


Folie à deux

by somanyspoons



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Breaking and Entering, M/M, NSFW, This gets pretty dark, and also how fun it is to do bad things, and is also fucked up, and when i say lowkey i mean highkey, damn how do i tag for triggers without giving things away, fuck chiron all my homies hate chiron, i've separated it into a chapter so if you wanna skip it, ig that's what you get when you fucking make children soldiers huh, just read it, leo "i'm a shopaholic except instead of shopping i steal things" valdez, leo has seventh wheel issues lowkey, leo is fucked up, my homies are leo and nico, nico "i have nothing else to lose so i'm going to tag along" di angelo, nico thinks it's hot, there IS nsfw in this fic, there's also minor character death, they both fall in love through their mutual love of hating camp, they both fuel each other's madness, this is a fucking crime fic, trauma is wack innit, uhhhh very self indulgent, valdangelo - Freeform, you can
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-24 19:21:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 39,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30077133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/somanyspoons/pseuds/somanyspoons
Summary: Leo Valdez is tired of being a hero. It's hard to bring himself to believe he ever was one in the first place. Ever since the war, ever since he'd come back from the dead, things had been different. The happy sparkle in his eyes had dimmed, practically down to nothing.Who would've thought a mix of criminal behavior and Nico di Angelo would help to bring it back?Being a hero is overrated, anyway.OR, Leo's fucked up from after the war and Nico catches him sneaking out of camp one night. He follows him and they begin their life of crime together. And then they kiss. And then they fuck. And then they both go off the deep end.----This has been roughly formatted from RP format, so it's not written like a conventional fic.
Relationships: Nico di Angelo/Leo Valdez
Comments: 5
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all, hope you enjoy this. Wasn't planning on posting it to ao3 but if people like it, there's loads more I do with the same RP partner with a variety of PJO ships, comment if you want to see more.

Ever since the war had ended, there had been something off about Leo Valdez. You really couldn't tell unless you had known him before. He was still a hyperactive, skinny son of Hephaestus with a love for machines and technology. He still set himself ablaze to give the new campers a scare. But something had changed, in the way he smiled. There was a glint in his eye that hadn't been there before. A look that made those who knew him slightly uneasy. Before, there had been a glint of mischief, of playful harmless fun, but now, the glint of malice lay in his eyes. His smile was sharper than before. The calculating gaze he gave to machinery had turned to those around him.

He'd always known he was the seventh wheel. He just hadn't anticipated how much. Percy and Annabeth had gone to New Rome, for school. Jason and Piper were in LA, Frank and Hazel, praetors in New Rome. He had been happy for them. But as happiness waned, jealousy took its place. Of course, no one wanted him. Of course, they'd all left him behind, and he couldn't blame him. No one wanted him. He was a great friend. Always a friend. He wanted a partner.

But even Leo had grown tired of the want. The yearning had come to an end. If no one wanted him, that wasn't his problem. He didn't want them, either. He was tired of sitting around camp, waiting for something to happen. So he'd turned his attentions elsewhere.

He'd been doing this for a while. Leo was naturally more awake at night, years of nightmares had turned him from a morning person into a chronic insomniac. But during the night, his itch to do something was so much worse. At first, he'd snuck to Bunker Nine, tinkering with anything he could get his hands on until he fell into exhaustion. But even that had grown repetitive, tiring, boring.

During a particularly hard night, he'd decided on a whim to run from camp. Not for good, just for the night. He'd been passing by a house on the road, when he'd sensed something strange. The lock on the front door was weak. The mechanisms were rusty, the deadbolt was small.

Breaking and entering gave him a new outlook on life. He could still be kind, loving, a great friend during the day, but at night, he'd sneak out, pick a house, and break in. It was easy. He was good at it. This night was no different. It was half past midnight, and he'd escaped from his cabin easily, heading out towards the forest. Word around Long Island had spread about a serial burglar, and more doors had been locked at night. That only made it more fun. He already had a house in mind, a waterfront mansion. Lots of windows. Lots of entry points.

Ever since the war ended things had been strange for Nico. He hadn't been a part of the seven, but he'd done something huge to stop the fighting, and yet here he was, still bouncing between camps and the underworld, never fitting in. Every tie he had to Camp Half Blood was waning more and more, and even going to New Rome wasn't any better, he always felt like he was on the outside, never actually in on anything. It wore on him after a while, caused him to withdraw more, which only proceeded to make campers even more scared of him.

He himself was an insomniac, nightmares and memories plagued his dreams, and well when you're the prince of darkness and all that, the night is just better. Naturally he spent many nights wandering around, so he knew if people also wandered at night. He didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, random campers wanting to go make out, insomniacs like him, parties, the usual. But one person fell on a pattern, every time he stayed at Camp he noticed Leo sneaking out.

Sure they were never close, Leo didn't seem to like him, but he felt some connection to him, simply by nature of he also seemed to be an outsider. Something had changed in Leo over the years though, not that Nico ever questioned it, who was he to? They weren't really friends. He never thought much of the sneaking, all of the prophecy kids had nightmares. However this changed when he noticed Leo leaving the grounds. What could he have been up to?

Finally came the fateful night, Nico's curiosity got the best of him. He used his shadow abilities to follow Leo, wanting to see what he was doing out of camp.

Leo had his toolbelt around his waist. He couldn't exactly wear the bright orange CHB shirt, or his normal white one, both of them would make him stick out. So he a plain black t-shirt. Well, it hadn't used to be black. It had used to be grey, but was covered in oil and grease from the many days and nights in Bunker Nine.

Gods, how he loved his job. He had to resist the urge to hum while he walked, so he busied his mind and hands with screwing and unscrewing a nut on a screw in his pocket. It would take a while to get to the house; he'd been breaking and entering for a while, which meant he had to travel further and further away from camp each time. But it was worth it. He'd amassed quite the collection of assorted junk in a compartment in Bunker Nine, and was considering snagging a TV this time.

Nico followed, his usual black clothing helping him blend in with the shadows. Leo was wandering awfully far, and was wearing black? Why did he need to be wearing dark colors, he always wore white or orange. He had his sword drawn, ready to help Leo or fight him, whichever would be the case.

Eventually, Leo got to the house, throwing himself into action. There was a fence, as well as security cameras, since it was a mansion, but the fence had a control box, which meant it was no match for the son of Hephaestus. He'd popped the lid off with a crowbar, and it took less than a second to see the mess of wires before the gate was sliding open, and Leo was tucking a wire stripper and scissors back into his toolbelt.

He walked through the gate as if he owned it, staring directly into the security camera and winking. He would destroy the footage, later. The door was locked, but that didn't matter. The lock was weak, and he picked it easily. For a moment, he wished for a more difficult challenge. One presented itself almost immediately, in the form of a recently awakened Doberman Pinscher.

"Oh, gods above," He swore, rummaging around into his toolbelt. He'd brought dog treats, hadn't he? The dog growled lightly, getting up and taking a few steps forward. "Nice doggy," He said, with a little grin, "You're not gonna hurt me, are you? I'm just the cable man, here to inspect your fridge." That didn't make sense, but Leo didn't care. The dog kept approaching.

Nico's eyes widened, was...was Leo breaking into a house? He followed closely, trying to make sure he wasn't mistaking what was happening. He followed Leo into the home, and saw the tiny dog, shit if he barked Leo was screwed. He kept some treats in his pockets for Cerberus and Mrs. O'Leary luckily. "Here boy." He whispered, throwing them at the dog as he materialized in front of Leo. "So Valdez, what are you doing here?"

Leo jumped back as... the son of Hades appeared? The dog jumped for the treat, glad to receive it. "Nico di Angelo?" His expression shifted from surprise to suspicion. "Did you follow me here?" If Nico knew what he was doing, he was fucked. "This isn't your house, is it?"

Nico smirked at Leo. " And if I did? I'm not the one who has been sneaking out of camp." He looked around at the mansion. "No, I live in the Underworld, remember? I was just making sure you weren't causing trouble."

Leo didn't like that smirk. "You're not gonna tell anybody." His voice was lowered, and he looked around, flashing him a grin of his own. "Causing trouble is my job, di Angelo. Thanks for the treat, but you can go now. Just pretend this was a dream, or something."

Nico scoffed. "I'm not? What makes you say that Valdez?" He hadn't planned on it but the way Leo threatened him, he wasn't done. "I control dreams, I know this isn't one, besides, breaking into buildings at night? You sure you don't want the prince of darkness on your side?"

Leo didn't process his words. "Lower your fucking voice, Zombie Dude, this ain't our house, if you wake somebody up, we're both dead!" He whisper-shouted, then froze. "Did you say 'on my side?'"

Nico lowered to a whisper. "Better? Because I totally thought you went through the whole break in process in your own house." He looked around. "Yeah your side, you really think I'm just gonna leave you? What if you get caught idiota?"

Leo scowled, heading to the living room and looking at the figurines on the mantle, taking the ones that looked valuable. "I am not an idiot, stupid. I've been doing this for a month now, I've never been caught." He wasn't sure how he felt about Nico di Angelo sticking with him. "If you really can't bear to leave my presence, you can stick around tonight, but only tonight." He went to the kitchen, being as quiet as he could, rifling through the silverware drawer and dumping forks and spoons into his toolbelt. He pointed down to them. "Real silver."

"Who are you calling stupido? Stupido." He walked around with him, he wasn't as good as Hazel, but he could detect precious metals. "Silver alloy, real silver is..." He walked around, going to a fancy china hutch. "Here, you'll get a better price for this." He was keeping his voice lower, because if they got caught it would be Leo not him.

Leo's eyes lit up, and he gave him a wild grin. "You know what?" He went to the cabinet, opening it and removing all silverware. "Maybe you're good for more than just dog treats." He gave him a strange look. "Can you tell me if they've got any gold, anywhere? It's a mansion, they've got to have a safe somewhere." The idea that he could possibly start upping the ante on what he stole made his stomach tingle with excitement.

Nico rolled his eyes. "Oh so now you want my help, because I have metal detecting abilities." He mumbled something in Italian and began to walk around, trying to feel for it. "Upstairs office, I can go peak before you try to fumble around in there."

Leo snickered, giving him a look. "Uhh, obviously. I'm stealing, of course I want your help now." He shrugged. "Go ahead, but don't mess with any of the mechanics. I want to do that."

Nico didn't know the first thing about mechanics so that wouldn't be an issue. He gave a salute and stepped into the shadows. He ended up in a small office, with a safe tucked away in a false back of a cabinet, would need Leo's work, but he could at least open the door from the inside and watch fingerprints.

He went back downstairs. "Door is open, false back cabinet system, no clue what kind of safe." He reported, honestly, this was kind of fun, it was a rush, after being a hero and saving the world, petty crime felt like a break.

Maybe Nico sneaking along had been a gift from the gods, afterall. "Perfect." The glint in his eye was back, and he ran up the stairs as quietly as he could, into the office without waiting for Nico. He found the safe easily, his eyes lighting up. "These are my favorite types of safes," He said, positively giddy. "It's a jewelry safe, they're the most common when you want to store valuables. It used to be a combination lock, but..." He looked at the safe. "It was pretty recently replaced with a combination padlock." He scoffed. "These people are dumb. Padlocks are the easiest kind of lock to break." He fiddled with it, "Looks like it's got an aluminum housing and a copper coated zinc actuator. Easy peasy, for a guy like me."

Instantly, his hand was engulfed in flame, and he held the lock tightly in his flaming hand. A minute passed, and the lock clicked. Leo let it drop to the ground. "Don't touch it," He advised Nico, "You'd die." Clearly an exaggeration, but it was clearly hot.

All of that flew over Nico's head. "Are you breaking into a safe or teaching a lecture? And you told me to be quiet." He muttered. One look at that lock was enough to know he shouldn't touch it. "Just get the gold smartass."

Leo looked to him with a scowl. "Listen, zorra, I'm the one who broke into the house. Don't tell me what to do." Begrudgingly, he did as Nico told him to, opening the safe and positively vibrating with joy. Seven gold bars stacked up, as well as two rings and a few necklaces lay in the safe. Leo's skin was smoking, very very lightly. He scooped them all up, into his toolbelt, where they disappeared like nothing. "One more thing before we go, I have to steal the security camera footage from the front door. I winked at it."

Nico sighed, how the hell had Leo not been caught? "You winked at it? You're begging to get arrested." He looked around. "Where are you even going to find that footage?" Nico knew he was safe from it, but again, he actually didn't want Leo arrested.

"They couldn't catch me even if they tried." He rolled his eyes, going to the computer at the desk. "It's most likely here, and if it's not, I'll burn the powerlines down." He'd never actually done that before. The computer was password protected, but Leo wasn't worried. There was oil residue on the numbers portion of the keyboard, and with a quick touch, they lit up. It was easy enough to guess the password. Whoever owned this house really was a numbskull.

Leo found the security software and deleted the footage from the past twenty-four hours, before deciding on a whim to set fire to the entire computer. Why not? "Alright," He turned from the flaming contraption, "Now they won't be able to see us leave. Let's get outta here!"

“There's an easier solution than that." Nico grabbed Leo's wrist and dragged him into the shadows, transporting them outside. "Oh look, I've bypassed security." He said with a smirk, letting go of Leo. "Let's get going before the fire wakes them up."

Leo did not like shadow-travel, and that was apparent as he shuddered, drawing his wrist away. "A little warning next time, amigo." But he had to admit, that was easier than anything he'd done in the past. "Fine." He started walking, back towards camp. "Why'd you follow me, anyway?"

Nico shrugged, he forgot most people weren't used to it. "Sorry." He followed Leo, not bothering with shadows. "I have insomnia, I noticed you'd started sneaking out of camp, I'm bored and you have a habit of getting into trouble." He looked at his pouch. "And I see I was right."

"Hey, it's not trouble if you don't get caught. And I've never been caught. Except by you, but you don't count, because you're you." Leo crossed his arms, "I guess we're in the same boat, then. I started doing all this 'cause I couldn't sleep."

Nico tried to process that. "You couldn't sleep, so you started committing crimes, sounds legit I guess." He fidgeted with his skull ring. "And admit it, I earned you some extra money and got us out of there faster."

"Hey, I'm not admitting anything. I woulda found that safe by myself eventually." He hesitated. "You did take care of that dog, though. Thanks." They were approaching camp, and Leo turned to him. "You better not tell Chiron about this. I'll never be allowed to leave camp again if you do. And I'll... set your cabin en fuego, or something. So don't tell him. Please."

Nico liked Leo begging for him to keep the secret, he'd never thought he'd see the boy do it. "I suppose I won't, good luck setting obsidian on fire." He stopped right outside of camp. "But I'm going with you next time, affare? Admit it, you need me." He honestly enjoyed the slight thrill of it, it was better than the monotonous camp life.

Nico was met with a scowl. "Everything has a melting point." He grumbled, and looked up, shaking his head. "Nuh uh. I don't need you, hombre de la muerte de miedo." He looked down, considering it. "But you do have some cool powers. Fine. You can come with me next time, but only if you keep your mouth shut. If I hear anyone talking about me tomorrow around camp I'll light you on fire." They were empty threats, and in fact, Leo was actually quite scared of Nico di Angelo. But he didn't want his secret getting out.

Nico wasn't fazed, Leo didn't scare him. "Okay  _ piccolo folletto di fuoco _ ." He wasn't a mean person, and quite frankly, he wasn't going to risk his chance to leave camp and fuck shit up. "You'll realize how much you need me." He walked further into camp. "We can talk more about this later  _ ciao~ _ " He waved at him vaguely before disappearing into the shadows to go to his cabin, life just got a whole lot more interesting.

Leo just stood there, scowling. "I have no idea what you just said but fuck you!!" It was nearly two in the morning. He needed to shut up. Stupid Nico di Angelo. Stupid boy with his stupid Italian. He didn't like how he said ciao. " _ Adiós _ , dickwad."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is super roughly edited, so if there's any mistakes, sorry, but it's almost three in the morning and I have a 9AM tomorrow, so you'll have to deal with it lmaoooo, I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter tho. Also all the Spanish and Italian are from google translate because lord knows I don't remember shit from my two years of Spanish in highschool, and my boyfriend took German, not Italian. I'll put in translations at some point, but probably not soon bc it's Very late and I need to sleep 
> 
> My tumblr is @somanyspoons!


	2. Chapter 2

The next day Nico had actually avoided Leo, he didn't want any rumors since they hardly talked at camp and if Nico talked to anyone it became gossip. However as soon as night fell and curfew was in place, he snuck out of his cabin, choosing to hide amongst the trees for Leo, maybe to scare him a bit, he'd decide while he waited.

Leo was glad Nico didn't talk to him. He was slightly upset that someone now knew his secret, but that didn't matter. He trusted Nico to keep his mouth shut, though he didn't really know why. Lights went out, and immediately, Leo was up, dressed in the same clothes, making his way towards the treeline. He was slightly more on edge this time. If Nico had seen him last night, had others?

Nico saw Leo approaching and seemed to morph out of pure shadow. "Well hello there, do you own more than one black shirt? That's covered in stains and could leave residue, stupid." Never mind that Nico wore like the same three outfits over and over.

Leo jumped, giving him a look. "Don't lecture me on fashion choices, _tu molesto_. I bet ten drachmas you own maybe three shirts. Besides, it's the only black shirt I own." He rolled his eyes, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Let's head out. I don't have a house picked this time, so we just get to walk."

Nico rolled his eyes and followed Leo. "That seems like poor planning on your part, maybe next time _I'll_ scout us a place." He looked around. "At least the camp is on Long Island, _così tanti ricchi idioti_ " He could feel his adrenaline rising.

"Shut the fuck up, Death Breath, do I ever plan ahead? No, and I'm _still_ cool as hell." He didn't like how he couldn't understand what Nico was talking about, so he said a few sentences in rapid fire Spanish telling Nico how intimidated he was by him.

Nico looked at Leo unimpressed, hiding the smug look when he picked out a few key words of the Spanish. "Well, if we're gonna work together, flame head, we're going to start planning this out."

Leo didn't want to work together. He liked being alone. Nobody was supposed to want him, he was the outcast. Not that Nico wanted him like that, but... working together. He didn't like it. "Well then, let's plan." He snapped. "Obviously we can't just stand here and talk. Do you wanna go to Bunker Nine? We can set up a solid plan and then go from there."

Okay, Nico may have been an asshole but he could tell when lines were crossed, and he had a very irritated Latino man on his hands, who honestly just looked cute more than anything. "You plan tonight is find a random house, so let's do it, come on." He gestured for Leo to start moving, perhaps if he'd been more okay with touch he would have grabbed his hand or something.

Leo sighed. "Alright, then. We can plan out after, if I haven't worn you out by then." He started walking, without waiting for Nico to follow.

"Whatever Valdez, it takes more than this to wear me out." He hunkered down in his jacket and followed him. "I would laugh at the irony of two heroes breaking into houses, if it weren't us." He muttered, mainly just thinking.

Leo soured, slightly. "Imagine that." It'd been so long since he'd considered himself a hero. He lapsed into silence, quiet. "...I've never liked the term hero."

Nico was a little shocked by that. "Really? I figured you'd eat the attention up, heroes get the glory." He fidgeted a bit. "I've never felt like one, I've never been a part of a quest, I just got involved while doing my own thing."

"Sure, it was fun for a while." Why was he telling him this? He didn't know. "I ate it up like _dulce_ for a little while." He shrugged. "But being a hero sets the bar too high. You do one good thing, and then everybody expects you to do a million good things. Chiron wanted me to be a _role model._ A good influence." He wrinkled his nose. "No offense, but uh, not my thing."

Nico snorted. "I don't know what's worse, doing one good thing and having everyone thing you're a role model, or doing everything you can to be good and it's never enough so everyone still is scared of you and hates you." He took off his skull ring to look at it. "I can't see a _diavolo_ like you being a good role model."

His fingers fiddled with a ballpoint pen, taking it apart and putting it back together. "Yeah well, Chiron thinks I can be. I don't know how many times I have to prove him wrong." He muttered darkly, and the spring to the ballpoint pen leapt from his hand into darkness. He shoved the rest of the part into his toolbelt. "Don't get me wrong, I love camp, I love the people here, but..." He let out a sigh, looking up at the darkened houses they were walking past, "What I wouldn't give to be feared."

Leo didn't know what he was talking about, that much was apparent. "No, you don't want to be feared." He said, flexing his fingers to stay calm. "It's bullshit and it's awful, I've done nothing but they all fear and hate me, I'm alone by mere coincidence of birth. Don't get me wrong, I do not want to be a role model, I just want to be, normal I guess." That sounded nice, not a hero, not a villain, just...normal, like most of the other campers.

Leo swiveled around to look at him. "You're powerful, Nico di Angelo. You're one of the most powerful demigods anyone has ever met, except for maybe Percy. I'm not like you. I can set myself on fire and that's _it_. Nobody fucks with you, because they know what you're capable of. You may not see it, but some people envy you." Leo clenched his jaw, turning back around and continuing to walk. His shoulder had caught on fire, and he noticed, swatting at it until it went away. He'd gotten all these houses already, but soon they'd enter a neighborhood untouched.

Nico glared at Leo. "That doesn't make it any better Valdez, don't think I've forgotten how everyone on the Argo avoided me. I can't even make friends, so don't act like it's a blessing to be a child of the most feared God." He let his shoulder slam into Leo's as he passed, petty? Yes, but he was a little pissed at how little Leo understood about being a powerful demigod, it was isolating and terrifying.

Leo didn't want to retaliate. He really didn't. But his impulse control had far since abandoned him, and he squinted. "I would've been friends with you, y'know. Sure, you scared me, but if you hadn't spent all your time in the damn crow's nest, we could've gotten along, maybe." He rubbed his shoulder, trying to cool his temper. Nico was coming along with him, he needed to be nice. "I'm sorry if I don't understand the negatives on being powerful. I've always been the weakest. Why do you think I'm the only one of the seven still at Camp?"

"Because you're single and for some reason don't feel obligated to bow to the whims of the gods like the others, kudos to you." Yeah maybe not the best to jab at being single, but he did respect Leo's lack of wanting to kiss the Gods' asses. "I never thought you were the weakest, for the record, you were unconventional, but we never would have survived without you, you were the engineering brains and the backbone." Why not be honest? Leo did say they could've been friends.

Leo's scowl turned stormy. "So _what_ if I'm single?" He snapped, but stopped as Nico continued, the smoke around him beginning to dissipate. He thought he'd gotten that under control. "That's a load of _shit_ , and you know it. Obviously I was the weakest. _Deja de intentar besarme el culo, no se porque lo estas haciendo_." He knew Nico wouldn't be able to understand him. He trailed off into silence, but snickered. "Now that they've all gone, you could say I'm the strongest, sure." // 'Stop trying to kiss my ass, I don't know why you're doing it.'

Nico wasn't scared, he'd faced worse than an angry demigod. "It was just an observation, like how I'm single, but _obviously_ I hit a nerve." He stood his ground. "And while I can't translate it all, I can tell enough that you think I'm kissing your ass, I worshipped Percy for years but never told him anything he hadn't earned, insinuate I'm a liar again and see what happens." Now he was getting worked up. " _Sei di gran lunga il più testardo_."

Leo had had it. He whipped around, throwing Nico against the fence, stepping close. "Do you think you know anything a-fucking-bout me, di Angelo?" He asked. You could tell his was furious. "You've never been weak. Not like me. You're single because you choose to be. You're pretty. You could get lots of girls, or guys, or what-fucking-ever if you gave up the lone wolf thing. Not me, okay? So don't try to fucking tell me _anything_ about myself that you think I don't know, because I do, and it's the opposite. I'm not strong. I'm _not_ ." His hands on Nico's shoulders were warm, but he was too heated to care. " _Eres un maldito mentiroso._ " He hissed out, glaring at him.

Nico wasn't expecting to be thrown against fence, much less pinned there by Leo. Every word felt like a dagger to his system, but he didn't stand down, he stared Leo right in the eyes, as hollow and empty as his own were. "You're right, because whereas I know nothing about you, you've got me all figured out haven't you? Because you are an underdog so you just know who I am. Fine." He could feel the heat on his shoulders, something about the intenseness of Leo, he loved it, he just wished it wasn't aimed to attack anyone who tried to get close.

Nico would be able to see it in his eyes. The hesitation. The realization of hypocrisy. "I never claimed to have figured you out," He replied, struggling to maintain his eye contact. His hold got a little less firm, but they were still pressed together. "I'm just tired of people trying to lie to me to make me feel better." He realized, in that moment, that he had just unconsciously threatened a _very_ powerful demigod, who could easily crush him if he so desired. But Nico wasn't doing that. That made him feel strong. He didn't know _why_ Nico wasn't beating the living shit out of him, but he wasn't going to ask. It made him feel slightly more powerful, and that feeling was intoxicating.

Nico did see it, a grin forming on his face as the grip loosened, he wasn't going to attack or fight back, there was no need, he doubted Leo was going to hurt him. "Maybe one day you'll realize that not everyone is lying, because they're not trying gain anything or manipulate an outcome, you're just not a bad person."

Leo huffed, and released him, crossing his arms. "I should set you on fire." He muttered, still quietly seething. He still didn't believe Nico, and hated that grin as much as he loved seeing it on him. "You sound like fucking _Chiron._ "

"I'd like to see you try Valdez." He knew he was still mad but maybe he got through to him, until the Chiron comment. "Okay that is not what I meant, I just meant I'm not lying, and I don't want anything from you, I feel gross now thanks." He began walking again. It's not that he had anything against Chiron, he just felt like half the shit he spouted was bullshit, he was raising heroes, which Nico and Leo clearly weren't.

Leo stared at him, clearly considering it, before shaking his head. "Not at two in the morning." He mumbled, pushing his hair back. That WASN'T an excuse, it wasn't. "If you don't want anything from me, then _why_ are you coming along to steal shit?"

Nico shrugged. "Because it beats having insomnia in my cabin and having nightmares, what did you expect?" Of course the added bonus of Leo being one of the very few people at camp who'd known him for a while helped. "I thought we agreed, I'm not interested in this hero _spazzatura_ they're selling either."

Leo sighed, closing his eyes. "That _does_ make sense." He nodded, continuing to walk along. Leo was stubborn, but he wasn't a fucking idiot. He took a breath. "I'm sorry I pushed you against a fence." He mumbled, beginning to fiddle with the remains of the pen once more. "I probably won't do it again." But a pause, "Actually, no. Never mind. Ignore my last sentence."

Nico snorted and shook his head. "Do you often pin people to fences?" He wasn't going to lie, it had been hot, Leo's eyes were so intense when he was angry, and Leo in general was very attractive if not a little overly annoying, it could be charming.

"Only people who really fucking get on my nerves." He couldn't lie, he was still angry, but it was starting to fade. He'd always had a fiery temper, justly so. "So don't piss me off anytime soon and it probably won't happen again." He didn't like how good it had felt, having Nico up against the fence. Not just making him feel powerful, but something else, too. A strange satisfaction.

"My presence seems to piss you off so I'll try." Nico quipped in a teasing tone. He looked around at all of the houses. "See any new ones to try and get into?" He asked, craving the rush of adrenaline.

Leo shot him a look, turning back to the many houses. "I've never covered this area. Why don't you pick one?"

Nico looked around, making his usual notes on cars and easy access. He pointed to a house with a car in the driveway but no lights on and decent size. "That one, seems safest, I don't see any cameras or security systems from here.

Leo scouted it, nodding. He could sense some type of machinery inside, but it was probably just the garage door. " _Vamanos, chico._ Let's go fuck up some lives." He had to resist the urge to, strangely, grab Nico's hand, and darted forward, jogging up to the front door, pulling out a full fucking lock picking kit from his toolbelt and immediately setting to work, unlocking the door and opening it, as silently as he could. "Assholes first," He declared quietly, opening the door for Nico.

Nico was impressed, Leo really just knew how to use a lockpick kit. He flipped Leo off as he passed him. "Assholes before dick heads." He shot back, stupid in reality but he felt better for saying it, trying to stand his ground.

Leo couldn't just let him win like that. "You just implied that my dick is bigger than yours," He replied smugly. "I'm flattered." In a past life, he would have made a Bad Boy Supreme joke, but those days were far over. "Sense any gold, _¿mi hermosa ladrona?_ "

Nico bit his tongue, now was not the time to have a dick measuring contest. "Whatever." Then Leo called him his thief, with an extra word but it wasn't anything in Italian so he couldn't pick it up, but still the way that Leo casually called him his, made him feel weird, he couldn't tell if it was good or bad. Choosing to ignore it, he closed his eyes. "Very little, silver some, gold jewelry in the bathroom? I think anyway, I couldn't sense any life force in the room."

He twisted his brows, peering at Nico strangely. "No life force? Does that mean nobody's home?" _That_ made things easier, if it was true. That meant they had time to fuck around. "Sweet."

Nico focused harder, but it really seemed like no one was home. "Yeah, it's empty, would explain the one car in this area." He began to look around. "They don't decorate very much do they?"

"Seems pretty minimalist." He pouted. "I hate minimalists. Nothing to steal." His voice returned to normal. "So, to the bathroom, then?"

Nico nodded. "I'm getting vibes from there, I'll check around down here?" He figured divide and conquer would work best.

"Sound cool, if I'm not back in five minutes, assume I'm busy checking myself out in the mirror, or something." There. A flash of the old Leo had returned, for just a very small moment. He turned, heading up the stairs and beginning to open random doors, eventually finding the bathroom. There were two gold rings, wedding bands, on a ring holder in the bathroom sink. "I guess they're not very happily married, then." He mused, taking them and slipping them into his normal pants pocket. Indeed, he found himself stopping to check himself out. It'd been a while since he'd really looked in the mirror. He needed a haircut, jeez. And there was a smudge of oil on his cheek. All in all, very normal. His eyes looked emptier than ever, though. But like previously stated. Very normal. He was distracted from his introspection by the sound of breaking glass, and opened the door, peering out. "Do you know the first thing about breaking and entering, di Angelo?" He called, a little pissed. "That might have woken somebody up! What the Hades?"

Nico on the other hand was busy looking around for silverware and other precious knick knacks. He was doing good until he heard a crash from outside. In an instant his sword was drawn and he was backed into the shadows. "That wasn't me." He called back, he could here slithering mixed with faint hissing, that wasn't good.

Leo's heart dropped, just a little bit. "Well, fuck." He called out, searching the room for weapons. There was a hammer in his toolbag, he knew, but that might not do. He wasn't fucking _Thor_ . "Monster?" He asked for a confirmation, but he was answered by the sound of dry scales, right outside the bathroom door. "Monster." He grumbled. "Sorry, occupied!" He called in a falsetto. Apparently, dracaenae had no manners. It burst through the door, and Leo yelled, reaching into his toolbelt for _anything_ useful. He pulled it out, producing... a bottle of olive oil. Nice. He leapt back into the shower, pulling the shower curtain closed. "Give me some privacy, goddamn it!" Surprisingly, the dracaena hesitated. That gave Leo enough time to pour the oil over himself, rubbing it into his skin and hair. He didn't know where Nico was, but that didn't matter. The dracaena hissed, and pulled back the shower curtain. She was greeted by a screaming ball of fire.

Nico heard crashing upstairs and turned to go check on Leo when he was hit by a long snake. Wait...not a snake a dracaena. "Monster!" He called out even though Leo probably already knew that. He drew his blade, slashing at the air. He tried to follow the sound of dry scales on the hardwood, but with two snake bodies it was hard. "Show yourself!"

"I ssshall sssave you for lassst, ssson of Hadesss," The dracaena hissed, disappearing into the bathroom. Leo did his thing, covering himself in olive oil, and lighting himself up. She lunged at him, but he ducked, pressing his fiery hands up against her scales. Were snakes flammable? He didn't know. But he _did_ know that the body of the woman protruding from one of the snake bodies was flammable. He reached for her hair, setting it alight. But he knew he wouldn't be able to kill her. He was the weakest one. He didn't even have a weapon... Leo felt fatigue run through him, and would have extinguished himself, if the olive oil wasn't flammable.

Nico was confused, but like hell he was going to let her go after Leo. He chased after her, eyes wide when he saw the flames and destruction of the bathroom. " _Che cazzo?_ " Now wasn't the time to worry about it though. He took his sword and stabbed through one of the dracaena's tails, digging the blade into the floor.

The dracaena screamed, both from the fire, and the blade. She twisted around, her other tail whipping around as well to knock the other demigod away. Leo wasn't having it, throwing himself up onto her with a cry. He pulled a screwdriver from his toolbelt, using it as a knife. He was still on fire. He looked up, seeing his partner. " _Hola_ , Nico!"

Nico tried not to get knocked back too far but with Leo being a human fireball he wanted a bit of distance. "What the fuck Leo?" He asked, yanking his sword out of her tail and trying to slash at it frantically.

"What do you _mean_ what the fuck Leo, as if this is _my_ fault?" He kept slashing at the dracaena, but she managed to shake him off, and he slammed into the wall, his fire dying out. He was dazed, but tried to get back up, still intending to stab the monster to death with a _screwdriver_.

Nico didn't have time to address the levels of fuckery mid battle, so instead he focused on getting the dracaena off of Leo. "Hey snake face!" Again, not creative but he needed to get her away from Leo. He swung down, slicing the tip of one f her tails off.

The dracaena turned in response to the call, rage on her face. She let out a scream of rage and pain as yellow powder trickled from her tail, and lunged for Nico, abandoning Leo almost entirely. "Hey!" He shouted. But she paid him no mind. He immediately began fumbling in his toolbelt. Didn't he have a few vials of Greek Fire left over...?

Okay, Nico figured that would happen, but he had hoped she would be slower. He brought his sword up barely in time, stumbling back against the wall. "A little help?" He tried to push her off, using shadows to start suffocating her.

"Be _patient,_ " Leo shouted, pulling out the vial and cringing. If he used it, the whole house would go up in flames. He looked to Nico, holding up the vial. "If I throw myself at you, can you get us out of here?" The dracaena was confused by all the shouting, and the suffocating darkness halted her attacks. Her tails whipped around, trying to find and strangle either demigod.

Nico pushed the dracaena off of him. "Yeah probably." He already gathered enough shadows to disappear. "What are you planning?" He dodged one of her tails barely.

Leo didn't have the time to explain, only letting out a quick, "Bomb!" He ran to Nico, throwing his arms around him and yelled over the sounds of the screaming monster. "Go, _go_!" Without waiting for an answer, he threw the vial as hard as he could, and the glass shattered against the wall.

Nico saw the vial, heard the warning and immediately held onto Leo and got them the fuck out of there. He landed them a ways away, but close enough to see the fire and the smoke. "You just blew up a house."

Leo still had his arms wrapped around Nico's neck, and he quickly let go, giving him a look. He turned towards the neighborhood, unable to help the almost maniacal grin spreading across his face. " _Yeah_ I did." His heart was pounding. For a second, it almost felt like old times.

Nico felt shocked laughter bubbling up inside him, eventually pouring out. He saw the smile on Leo's face, it suited him. "Oh my gods, we just destroyed a house, did you get anything out of it?" Was it inconsiderate to ask about loot?

Leo felt an insurmountable wave of pride wash over him, watching the flames reach into the sky. He knew if any of his family were here, he'd be called _un diablo_ , spit on, and shunned. But they _weren't_ here. Nico was here. And Nico was laughing with him, just as excited. "Just these two rings." He brought them out of his pocket, slipping one on and holding his hand up, to admire it. "Here, give me your hand."

Nico watched as Leo pulled out golden rings. "Why?" Even as he asked that he held his hand out. He couldn't lie, with the others he would had to have acted solemn, like it was a shame, but they did what they had to do, and he felt a _rush_ from doing it.

"Because, I'm going to cut it off." He deadpanned, taking Nico's hand and slipping on the other ring. "Just kidding, _cabrón_ . I'm not wearing _both_ of these rings." He released his hand, eyes drawn to the fiery wreckage. It had seemed to scratch an itch in him. He was pleased with himself. "Holy Hera, I should not have enjoyed that as much as I did..." He whispered, the same grin on his face.

Nico didn't know what Leo called him but it probably wasn't very nice. He couldn't help the light blush as Leo put the ring on him, it was kinda gay. He looked back up at the house. "Well fire is your thing." Nico just liked how alive Leo looked after it. "I'm just glad you're not acting like we should be sad about it, no one human died."

It _was_ kinda gay, but Leo was too preoccupied over the flames to notice. "Yeah it is," He murmured, lips parting as part of the roof caved in. He shivered. "I used to consider it a curse, you know. But that was when I was considered a hero. Fire destroys. Heroes don't destroy." He swallowed, turning to Nico, a hesitant smile twitching at his lips. "Guess I'm not a hero, anymore."

Nico smiled at Leo, he was watching growth. "Nope, welcome to the dark side." He held his hand out, the ring reflecting the flames. "For those who can't be heroes." He was never going to be one, he controlled the dead and the shadows.

Leo looked down at Nico's hand. At the rings. There was the smallest second of uncertainty, but it passed more quickly than a shadow. He took Nico's hand, shaking it. "I think I'll fit in nicely, here." He'd made up his mind. Heroes were overrated, anyway.

"So now that we're arsonists, should we head back to camp before the cops come?" They were in a rich neighborhood after all, and hell hath no fury like a rich family scorned. He was actually feeling some sort of positive emotion about Leo giving up the hero game, perhaps because he felt less alone now.

Already, Leo could hear sirens, and nodded, quickly turning. "Let's go. If you're not tired yet, we can head back towards Bunker Nine and do more concrete planning." Why did he feel so wonderfully content, now? He'd destroyed someone's home. This wasn't the first time. But... he felt less like a monster, with this one. So he walked away, his heart light, his mind untroubled.

Nico tired? After that? "Nope, I'm still wide awake." He glanced once more at the burning house, the part of him that had always been told how to feel feeling a bit guilty, but he brushed it off, it was fine. He walked with Leo, feeling calm. "We need to plan better for monsters, I wasn't expecting any dracaena."

Leo groaned, "Neither was I. I need to make more Greek Fire, too." Had he just let it slip that he was definitely planning to pull something like that again? Maybe. "And—ugh, I need to actually bring something sharp next time. Screwdrivers aren't gonna work."

Nico wasn't going to judge. "Yeah, more Greek Fire would be good." He hummed in thought, not a screwdriver. "I could lift you a dagger that's Stygian Iron, just don't touch the blade and you'll be fine." Leo did need a weapon, and the iron was better than bronze.

Leo stared at him. Nico had gone along with his plan so effortlessly. He was starting to like this guy more and more. "Oooh, I've always been jealous of that sword. Wouldn't mind one for myself. Why can't I touch the blade, though? Am I not cool enough?"

Nico rolled his eyes. "Unless you're a child of the underworld, it's risky. The blade absorbs the essence of monsters and mortals alike, it's a weapon that can harm anyone." He explained. "So in theory you'll be fine, but it might be uncontrollable."

That was disappointing, but Leo shrugged. "Sure, pick me up one. I can see what I can do about that, maybe make some adjustments, or something." They walked back to camp, Leo feeling lighter than ever. "We should sneak through the trees. Bunker Nine is pretty hard to find, if you don't know where to look, and I don't want anyone seeing us, like you did last night."

Nico nodded, he didn't really know where Bunker Nine was so he couldn't shadow travel. "Lead the way, human torch." He had to throw a jab, Leo had been pretty terrifying when he was on fire.

Leo turned, tossing him a scowl. "Shut the fuck up, bitch." Really? That was all he could manage? He led them through the forest, into the clearing and opened the door to the bunker with a rusty key produced from his toolbelt. He flicked on the lights, and the room illuminated, making Leo's eyes hurt. "Welcome to our new evil lair," He grinned, voice returning to normal. "The walls make things pretty soundproof, so we can do _whatever_ we want~" It was meant to sound smug, but it actually came out more sexual than anything. But Leo didn't notice, and if he did, he didn't care.

Nico just brushed off any innuendos, he was used to them from Leo. He looked around and let out a low whistle. "So this is what cabin nine has been hiding, impressive." He sat in one of the rusty chairs in the corner. " _Il covo perfetta._ "

He was greeted by a roll of the eyes. " _la guarida perfecta_ , actually. This is Valdez-town, we speak Spanish here." He snickered, going to the wall of tools and pulling paper and a few pens from a drawer. "Alright, _gilipollas_ , what's the plan for next time we pull something like this?"

That was a shame because Nico didn't fully understand Spanish. "Fine fine, _stronzo._ " He looked around and thought. "First off, scouting, it was interesting to find a random one, but the monsters were a nasty surprise. We need to plan ahead more."

"Yeah, you're right. Usually I'll walk around after I'm done with a house, and choose one for the next night, but if we're gonna be pulling something like tonight again, that might be out of the picture." He furrowed his brows. "Hey, did you just call me an asshole? I am _not_ an asshole, _you're_ an asshole!"

Nico laughed. "So he does speak Italian! _Mi chiedevo se fossi solo stupido._ " He grinned at Leo, it was very reminiscent of an asshole cat. "So we're going to need to at least look around, and maybe not burn down every house we hit."

Aaand, he was back to not knowing what the fuck Nico was saying. " _Eres estúpido y te odio. Sin embargo, tu acento es sexy._ " Leo paused, looking up at him. " _Dios, espero que no hayas entendido_ ." He cleared his throat, hoping he'd said fast enough that Nico hadn't caught on. "I'm cool with that. Probably just the empty ones. I don't wanna kill anyone." _...Right?_ "Maybe we can take a break from robbing and just focus on scouting tomorrow _._ "

Nico hadn't really caught any of that but damn if Leo speaking Spanish wasn't doing confusing things to him. "Yeah no murder, cops will get on our trail fast if that happens." Was that the right response to that? "Perhaps, get a list of places, so we need to scout less."

Leo looked at him, searching his face for any sign that he'd understood. Met with none, he grinned. "That sounds good. Not sure how to do that, though. You know how technology is with demigods."

Nico was honestly surprised. "I'd figured you'd have figured that out, with your talents and general lack of respect for the rules." He grabbed a pen and a piece of paper. "If we stay in the same neighborhood for a while, we can tell patterns and such."

"You forgot my ruggish good looks and general boyish charm." Leo grumbled, but looked over his shoulder, seeing what he was writing. "That's true. I'm not afraid of sneaking into a house where the family awake, either. I managed to strip a house clean while a couple was watching TV in the living room. _Yeah_ , I'm that good."

Nico rolled his eyes. "Hard to forget when you keep reminding me." He was making a list of things to watch out for. Okay that was impressive. "How did you pull that off? That's my level of stealth."

Leo shrugged. "It was easy." His smile was smug. "The volume was loud, and their windows were open. He reached into his toolbelt, pulling out a delicate necklace and putting it out onto the table. "They didn't have much, just jewelry. But I'm glad to know I'm just as good as you are."

Nico looked at the necklace. "Do you actually sell anything you steal? Or do you keep around for mementos?" It seemed strange that Leo just collected it all.

"I thought about selling them, but these are _rich_ people. I don't want to try to sell to an underdog cop, or something, so eventually I'm gonna melt them down, and make my own jewelry, and sell that." He grinned, sitting down beside Nico. "You wanna see everything I have?"

Nico had to admit, it was ingenious. "Sure, how long have you been up to this?" He was keeping the ring, Leo wasn't going to steal the memento from his first job, even if it had been a disaster.

"Just a month." He looked to their rings, eyes crinkling. "I ain't melting these boys down, though. These are keepsakes." He stood, scampering to the desk and pulling out the bottom drawer. There was a safe built into the ground, under the drawer, and Leo punched in the numbers without even looking at it. He beckoned Nico over. "C'mere," The safe opened, and Leo pulled out a large cardboard box, filled with several different coins, and cash. There were rings, necklaces, bracelets, and lots and lots of silverware. He showed him proudly. "You were the first time I was able to find a safe, though, so..." He pulled out the gold bars from his toolbelt, tossing them carelessly into the mix. "Quite the haul, eh?"

Nico's eyes widened, there was so much stuff. He knew that this was worth quite a lot of money. "See? Useful, I can sniff out safes and save you from monsters." He teased, honestly he was in shock, this was a lot for a month. "So, since I'm risking my life, do I get a cut now? Or is it strictly communal?”

Leo shot him a look. "I don't need you to save me from _anything_ ." He said, a bit of the angry fire returning. "Sure, you can have a cut. We can do... 90/10. How's that, _stronzo_?" His Italian accent was terrible.

Nico wrinkled his nose at the accent, but the fire in his eyes was doing things to him. "Sure you don't, but you and I both know that you couldn't have escaped that house if I hadn't shadow travelled us out." He argued. He was ignoring the cut comment, he could renegotiate later.

Was Nico _trying_ to get him worked up? Because holy fuck, he was doing a great job. "I would've thought of something," He glared at him. "I always do. I would've been _fine._ "

Nico raised his hands in surrender. "I'm sure you would have, you're scrappy, but I know I'm convenient." He shot him a pleased smile, he had to admit, there was something about Leo angry, he loved it.

Leo just gave him a long look. "Yeah, I guess so." He grumbled, still angry, but calming down. He closed the box, returning everything to its proper place, and went back to the table. "I've already figured out that most of the neighborhood uses the same type of lock and deadbolt. It can be retracted with a magnet and picked easily, so that takes care of that. I can bring extra nectar and ambrosia, too." He wrote all of it down in a messy scrawl, and looked towards the work bench. "I have two vials of Greek fire left, and I can make more in batches of four. Plus, I'm modifying a glass cutter to soundlessly remove windows, which doesn't really make things easier, but _much_ more fun." There was a glint in his eyes that would've made any sane demigod on edge, as he said that.

Luckily Nico was far from sane, he'd been to literal hell and survived, he'd killed and fought and done what he had needed to survive, he was far from perfect. He looked at the notes. "Removing windows could be interesting, especially for people who have houses of mainly windows, they'll never feel safe again." He grinned, now Nico's smile normally scared people, but this one had an edge to it.

It was a little strange to see the son of Hades smiling, but Leo loved it. He caught himself staring, and returned his eyes to the paper, a smile of his own lighting up his face. "I like the way you think, _mi ladrón_. I can finish it up tonight and tomorrow, and have it finished in time for tomorrow night. As for the Greek Fire, I'd much rather work on it alone. I can have it done in a few days."

The way Leo called him that, sent a shiver through him that he tried to hide. "I take that as my cue to leave?" He asked, getting up and stretching. "Then I'll leave you to it, _Il mio inventore_."

Leo didn't need to think twice before he'd figured out what Nico had called him, and couldn't help but smile. " _Eres una muñeca, Nico. Te veré mañana, ladrón._ " He got up, pacing around and rummaging for the recipe for Greek Fire, though it was ingrained into his head from the war. He had a feeling he wouldn't sleep much tonight, but that was normal. "Remember, tell anyone about this, I'll flay you alive. Sleep well!" His tone was cheerful.

Nico rolled his eyes. "You too, I'll make sure to never speak to everyone, such an inconvenience." He teased, shadow traveling as soon as he could. He landed in his cabin and just smiled at the ceiling, he hadn't felt this alive in a long time.

Leo scoffed, turning to his workbench. He had his work cut out for him, and turned on the radio, beginning to sing along while he reassembled the glass cutter spread out on the table. He worked well into the night, falling asleep around seven in the morning. Even then, his dreams turned into nightmares. He'd gotten about an hour and a half of real sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Leo gave up trying to sleep peacefully at around nine in the morning, getting up from his place slumped over the table and made his way to the pavilion. Breakfast had ended, but Chiron and a few of the campers were lingering. Leo came with his plate of food, barely hungry, but eating anyway. "Son, can I speak to you?" Leo looked up, seeing the centaur standing over him, and felt dread pool in his stomach. "Sure." He was too tired to continue looking up at him, and kept eating.

"Harvey alerted me to the fact that you were absent from your bed this morning."

Leo's already bad mood immediately worsened. "Harvey should keep his mouth shut." He mumbled, thankful Chiron hadn't heard that.

"Yeah, sorry. I woke up pretty early, had some weird dreams. I went down to Bunker Nine to work on some stuff."

Chiron sighed. "These campers look up to you, Leo. You must try to be a good influence, for their sakes-" Leo tuned him out after that, focused on _not_ spontaneously combusting. "-especially with the great prophecy of a few years ago, these campers look up to you, you're a hero-" He managed to keep himself cool, though it took every single bit of patience he had. "-can you just try that for me?" Chiron finished, and Leo nodded.

"Sure, Chiron. Only for my favorite half horse man." He flashed him a toothy grin, nodding once more. Chiron thanked him, and finally left him alone, and he got up, silently fuming.

Nico had a fitful night of sleep, riddled with nightmares and other terrors. As usual he woke up after breakfast, which mean he wasn't going to eat until lunch. That didn't matter much, he usually did his sword lessons on an empty stomach. He'd been pared with the Hermes cabin and like usual no one wanted to spar with him and the Stoll brothers spared no joke or comment on his parentage, what kind of hero was spurned like this after saving everyone's lives? He left the arena pissed and tired, but then he saw Leo, probably a bad idea, but he needed some levity, so he went over to talk to him. " _Ciao inventore~_ " He greeted with a smirk.

He heard the voice before he saw the man, but either way, he turned, scowling. " _Voy a prenderte fuego y reír mientras te quemas, ladrón._ What do you want?" He wanted to be nice to Nico. But he was exhausted, mentally and emotionally from the night before as well as Chiron. Plus, they didn't normally talk, and now that they were working together, Leo felt like anything out of the ordinary would be suspicious. He tried to feel annoyed by the way the Italian slipped off Nico's tongue so effortlessly.

Okay Leo was very much not in a good mood, that was apparent. "Well nice to see you too." He still had his sword out, he was also irritated a bit, just from everything with the Stolls. "Is it bad to say hi to someone who doesn't irrationally hate me? Whatever." He wasn't sure he wanted to deal with this ater all.

Leo eyed his sword, offhandedly wondering what it would look like with flames running up and down the blade. That would be a sight to see. He closed his eyes, sitting heavily down on the picnic table he was next to. "No, it's not." He groaned, "And I don't hate you at all. We just don't talk. This is weird, I figured you'd want something besides just a _greeting_."

Nico put his sword in his belt and sat next to Leo. "Yeah it's weird, the Stoll's took every shot possible at me during practice so I just wanted a friendly face, well as friendly as I can get." He looked over at Leo. "What's got you all pissed off?"

He gave him a slightly sympathetic look. "Why don't you just unleash Hell on them? They wanna fuck with you, fuck with them right back." He was silent for a moment, stewing in his anger. "Lots of things piss me off, di Angelo. Much more than how they used to... Chiron asked me why I was out of bed this morning, then lectured me on being a good influence." His eyes were steely, mouth set in a thin line. "He called me a hero."

Nico snorted. "Ah yes, nothing says I'm not as bad as you say I am like unleashing my powers upon them and traumatising younger campers." He kicked at the ground. "You're not a counselor, you're just another camper, why do _you_ have to be the good influence? What about Jake and Nessa?" He felt bad, it was going to be hard for Leo to break past the hero label.

"If I _knew that_ , I would _tell him!_ " He bit out, eyes fiery. But he took a deep breath, shaking his head. "I do know it. Of course I know it, it's 'cause I was part of the prophecy. It always comes back to that fucking prophecy." He laughed, bitter. " _Mataría ese oráculo si estuviera un poco más loco_."

Nico felt a shiver go down his spine, threatening the Oracle was never a good idea. "That prophecy was bullshit, there were more than seven of us that completed it, it took nine halfbloods and a satyr." Nico didn't get everyone's obsession with it. "Be careful who you say that to, threatening the Oracle is a surefire way to get fucked up."

"I'm already fucked up." Leo's fists were clenched. "It was a joke, don't sweat it. Not serious." He looked to the sky. "Just joking, ahaha, dark humor, you know-" He blew a kiss to the sky and sighed, leaning back against the table. "You should've been hailed as a hero, not me. You did loads more than I did."

Nico knew Leo was just in a bad mood, but still, he worried about him. "The joke king here." He sighed. "Yeah because people totally want to admit that one of the most feared demigods contributed anything good to this camp. I don't want to be a hero, I've seen what it's done to Percy, I'm already my father's personal servant, I just want to live my life."

"Gods, this place is fucked up. You did plenty good for this camp. You were the fucking reason the mission fucking succeeded." Leo's heart was still beating faster than normal, his adrenaline was out of control. He needed to calm down, but he had a feeling that wouldn't be possible, this time. He stood. As much as he wished to control it, there were miniscule flames dancing along his arms. "Can you shadow-travel me to Bunker Nine?" He asked, keeping his voice steady. "Please."

Nico looked at the flames and understood. "Of course, come on." He grabbed Leo's hand since it was the only part not on fire and led him to the tree line. In a flash of cold blackness they were in Bunker Nine. "Are you okay?"

Leo followed him, cheeks flushed with anger. "I'm _fine_ ," He spat, once he'd regained composure from the unfamiliarity of shadow-travel. It was clearly a lie, but what had Nico been expecting? It had been a long while since his emotions had gotten this out of control. Perhaps it was because now he knew he wasn't alone in his anger. "This isn't fucking fair. Fuck all of this." He slipped back into Spanish, it was easier, though the downside, Nico couldn't follow along. " _Desearía haberme quedado muerto. A la mierda la cura del médico. A la mierda Leo Valdez, la séptima rueda. A la mierda todo sobre este maldito campamento. Joder siendo un héroe._ " He was pacing back and forth, flames licking eagerly at his clothes.

Unfortunately, the normal Camp Half Blood shirts were _easily_ flammable, and his anger left him shirtless, and very close to pantsless if he hadn't looked down. He was too heated to stop the flames, but he'd taken precautions. Yanking on a level hanging down, a bucket filled with several gallons of cold water tipped, drenching him and extinguishing the flame, as well as shocking him out of most of his anger. There was a long pause before, "I'm fine, now." He trudged towards his workbench, looking like a drowned rat, and crossed his arms on the workbench, slamming his head down. "Sorry for all that." .

_// "I wish I had stayed dead. Fuck the Physician's Cure, fuck Leo Valdez, the seventh wheel, fuck everything about this damned camp. Fuck being a hero." //_

Nico watched in mild fear as Leo lost his shit, he got most of what Leo said but couldn't reach out, he was very literally too hot to touch. When the water splashed down he couldn't help but burst into laughter. "I swear, I'm not laughing at you but _che cazzo?_ " He looked at a now wet and very shirtless Leo, trying to ignore any confusing things in him. "You really went off." He placed a hand on Leo's still very warm back.

Leo's temper flared once more as he heard Nico laugh, and clenched his jaw, before realizing who _exactly_ was laughing. He'd never heard Nico di Angelo laugh in his life. He felt a hand on his back, feeling _wonderfully_ cold against his heated skin, and looked up. His rage had cooled with the water, and now he just looked grumpy and wet. "That's not the first time I've gotten too mad to put myself out." He muttered, resting his head on his arm. "Percy used to think it was funny to soak me at random times. I hated it before I realized how effective it was. I installed it a couple months ago." He took a long, deep breath, calming himself down slightly more.

Nico shook his head, of course Leo had temper issues, trauma would do that to you. "As effective as it is, water boy really needs to stop doing that." He tried it with Nico _once_ , never again. "You know Leo, I think you're one of the smartest people I know, and I think it's because you use your brains to raise hell, it's a smart move." He was at the moment just trying to make Leo feel better, but it was true.

Leo scoffed, but couldn't help but feel a tiny _tiny_ bit flattered. "Yeah, well... thanks." He sighed, turning in his chair to watch the water seep through the drain grates in the floors. "Thanks for taking us here," He sighed, finally feeling himself cool down. "I just _wish_ Chiron would stop thinking the best of people." He rolled his eyes. "I bet he'd think Octavian was redeemable, if he knew him."

Nico shivered, nothing about that man had been redeemable. "I'm glad I let him die, he deserved it." He thought back to his time in Camp Jupiter with that snake, few deserved death like him. "I hope he's in the fields of punishment, that's where _sprechi d'aria_ like him belong." He spat out, him and Bryce were the only real murders on his hands definitively, and he regretted nothing.

Leo looked at Nico for a long while, something glimmering in his eyes that was indecipherable. He looked away, unable to hide a smile. He cheeks were slightly flushed, but that was _only_ because he was still coming down from his spiel. "Cheers to hoping that anemic bitch is suffering right now," He announced, raising up an invisible glass.

Nico raised a fake glass as well. "Let's hope there are no more homicidal demigods we have to kill." He looked around. "So were you really up all night working on that? Not to sound like Solace, but occasionally sleep is healthy."

Leo rolled his eyes, before he nodded. "I thought _you_ of all people would have understood getting no sleep. I _tried_ , okay? I slept for, like, maybe an hour." He sighed, crossing his arms. "At least the glass cutter is finished. And I've got the Greek fire half finished. Once I almost dropped it I realized I should probably go to bed, so I did." He grumbled. "All the good it did me, though."

Nico sighed. "Yeah I don't sleep much either, but you almost dropped Greek fire which is dangerous, you're gonna lose a finger." He grumbled, looking at the glass cutter. "So just scouting tonight right? To avoid another _incident_?"

Leo shot him a look. "You say that like it's _my_ fault. _You_ picked the house, _estúpido_ , not me." He smirked, finally feeling his heartbeat go back to normal. "Besides, I very much _enjoyed_ the aftermath of that 'incident', didn't you?"

"How was I supposed to know there were monsters there?" Nico thought about last night, the rush of fighting, the house on fire, getting away, it had been addicting. "Yeah, I did. It...it was strangely satisfying to not have to fake guilt."

He was practically radiating smugness, staring up at Nico with satisfaction. "Mhmmm, that's what I thought. But yes, we can scout tonight." Leo hesitated for a moment, before, " _¿Tienes una camisa negra que me prestes?_ " It sounded like a question, and he looked up at Nico, expecting an answer.

Luckily it was similar enough in both languages. "If you promise not to ruin it, _si_." He could lend Leo one of his shirts, it would only be a little bit too big on him.

Oh, he was impressed. "Uhhh... I cannot promise anything. But I'll do my best...?" He flashed him a hopeful grin, raising his eyebrows.

Nico rolled his eyes, becoming fond of Leo's quirks. "Then I'll bring one tonight, or...now I guess since you destroyed the other one?" He looked over Leo's shirtless body, he couldn't lie, he was hot.

Leo noticed his eyes, furrowing his brows. "Stop oggling di Angelo, I know, I'm skinny." But he laughed, shaking his head. "No need for one now, I've got a bunch around here somewhere." He stood up, stretching slightly and went to a drawer, revealing a small surplus of orange CHB shirts and plain white ones. He eyed the orange shirts with distaste before grabbing a white shirt, turning around and slipping it on while he walked back towards Nico. His hair was still dripping, and the cloth stuck to his skin. "When should we meet, and where, tonight?"

Nico looked away quickly. "You're not that skinny." Comparatively, Nico was thinner due to years of recovering from being in that jar which killed his appetite, he was strong but it was all lithe muscle on a stick body. "Here, one am? After lights out and even the hook ups are busy at that point." He was pointedly not looking at how the shirt stuck to Leo's skin, the strange chaotic feelings were acting up.

He hesitated, blinking away the memories. "If you say so, death boy." He joked, throwing him a wink. Why had he done that? "One in the morning sounds great. I think I'm gonna hide out in here, for a little while more." His lip curled, "Just to... ensure I don't go _loco_ , or something."

He winked, what does that mean? Nico just nodded. "Sure, I have archery but, I don't think I can handle the sunshine brady bunch so, I'm just gonna head to my cabin." He shot a smile at Leo. "Try not to blow anything up, _ciao_." He stepped into the shadows and made his escape to the cool darkness of his cabin.

Leo snickered, he'd never thought to refer to the Apollo cabin as the brady bunch. Nico was funny. That must he the only reason why his stomach felt weird. Nobody had ever been able to really match Leo's sense of humor so perfectly like Nico did. "No promises, fuckhead! _¡Adiós!_ " He sat on the floor for a while, just thinking. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad... He had a partner in crime, now.


	4. Chapter 4

It was one am, Nico had an extra shirt and excitement coursing through him, though it didn't show on his face well. He was in extra black, ditching his graphic tees for a plain black this time under his jacket. He went to Bunker Nine, ready to scout and raise hell. " _Ciao il mio inventore_." He greeted as he walked in, however he found a strange sight, Leo was sleeping, right next to vials of Greek fire, he was going to get himself blown up. "Wake up, idiot."

Leo had been having a strange dream. Back on the Argo II. Nico was in the Crow's Nest, and Leo was climbing to get to him, but with every inch closer, Nico got further and further away. He jerked awake, blinking confusedly, mumbling to himself in Spanish before he really recognized that Nico was standing before him. "Oh, hey, you decided to come down. I was climbing for ages." Wait a second, he'd dreamed that. "Uhh... nevermind. I made Greek Fire!!" Leo rubbed his eyes, blearily.

Nico was confused, what? "Right..." He looked at the vials. "I see that, we'll be equipped now." He tossed Leo the shirt. "Here, not sure about fit but I wear my clothes baggy anyway."

Leo dismissively waved a hand, stripping off his shirt immediately. "You say that as if I care, di Angelo." He donned the black shirt, looking down at the fit. "Looks nice! Black makes me look sexy." He snickered to himself, carefully picking up two vials and putting them into his toolbelt. "We've got four now, which is nice. Did you manage to nab me one of those fancy black daggers?"

Nico chose not to comment about the shirt looking nice on him. "Right, I'm not sure this is a good idea Leo, these weapons can be very volatile in the hands of those not of the underworld." He pulled out a small dagger, an aura of darkness surrounding it.

Leo's eyes lit up as the weapon was produced. "I _died_ , didn't I? If that doesn't make me ‘of the Underworld’, I don't know what does." He took it, though with some hesitation. Standing there for a few seconds, nothing felt too out of place. He raised his eyebrows. "Alright, then! Looks like we're in business. Let’s go." He was all good, making his way towards the door. But after a few steps, he stumbled, feeling just a bit weaker.

Nico watched him nervously, if this didn't work, Leo was never coming back. Surprisingly it worked well, until he almost fell. "Shit!" Nico rushed to catch him. "This is what I meant, the blade can absorb your essence so you don't even go to the underworld. You died once, so it's less effective, but you can't use it often."

Leo had gasped as Nico stopped him from falling, staring up at him and dropping the dagger, feeling instantly better for it. "Well, that blows," He complained, saying still in Nico's arms. "I guess it'll be, like... for emergencies only, then." His eyes flicked to the ground, where the dagger lay. "Would you mind?"

Nico felt bad as he picked up the dagger, tucking it in his tool belt. "I'm sorry, I thought it could work." He slowly let go of Leo. "You okay to scout still?"

Leo scoffed. "'Course I am." He watched as Nico slipped it into his toolbelt. Wow. That was certainly near his waist. "I'm not that much of a pussy bitch. Let's go." He made it to the door without difficulty, and though he still felt slightly weak, it was nothing. "You wanna go to the same neighborhood like last time?" He said it as casually as if they were picking a place to trick or treat.

He had no idea what Leo called himself but he rolled with it. "Yeah, maybe start there, then branch out? See where the good places would be." It felt so natural, plotting this, it wasn't even like he needed to do it to survive anymore, he was just having fun.

This felt so strangely normal. He'd been doing this for a month before Nico had caught him. It had been two days, and already, he felt closer to Nico than he had with really any of the other campers. "Works for me." He bumped Nico's shoulder, a good natured smile on his face. "Hey, thanks for not ratting me out to Chiron, that first night." He smiled, surprisingly soft, as they walked. "I appreciate it more than you know. This is gonna sound weird, but this is kinda how I relax."

Nico jolted when Leo bumped him, but relaxed with his smile. "Rat you out and lose the chance to actually do something when I can't sleep? No way." Sure it had only been a couple nights, but he felt alive, and more fulfilled, his past companions would have a heart attack if they knew. "I get it, it's fun, itches some scratches."

Leo gave him a smile. "I'm glad you understand. I didn't think anyone would, but..." Here Nico was. He found himself snickering, looking up at him. "Damn, we're fucked up. _Robbery_ is fun."

Nico snorted. "Yeah it is, so is vandalism." He couldn't deny that. "Honestly I'm just glad that I'm not the only member of the Argo who snapped, you ever kill a man, Valdez?" He asked, his tone sounding joking to hide how serious he was.

"Not yet, but give me a couple weeks." Leo rolled his eyes. "I might kill a _horse_ if I keep getting shamed for not being perfect." He was joking. Obviously. Right? Hahahahahaha. "And damn, I'll bring spray paint next time then, too. We can really fuck things up."

Nico knew that Leo was probably joking, he wouldn't actually dare kill Chiron, probably. "Spray paint would definitely jazz it up." He could imagine spray painting something with Leo, pressed close while the police pass...okay imagination is cancelled. "Make it enchanted so it's impossible to take off, we could tag the cabins."

"Oooh~" He gave him a look, "You're smart, Neeks. Maybe we can work on something like that, after we scout a little more." Speaking of scouting, they'd entered the neighborhood. He lowered his voice. "Who's cabin do we get first?" He remembered how angry Nico had been after his swords lessons. "I say the Hermes cabin."

Nico grinned widely, he'd love to get back at the Stolls. "I agree, then the Apollo cabin, because they're just annoying by nature." So he was a bit petty. "Are you gonna tag your own cabin? Or leave it be?"

He shrugged, walking along, looking up at all the houses. "Dunno, yet. I will, if I get the proper inspiration." They walked along, coming towards the end of a street, when Leo stiffened, and stopped. " _Mierda_ , Nico, there's a cop, at the end of the street." He didn't point, but jerked his head, directing Nico's attention to the car. He could see the light fixture on the top of it, but it was too dark to see if anyone was inside.

Nico's eyes widened, he wasn't expecting cops. "Shit, what do we do?" He tried to look casual but any teenagers just walking around in all black after what was happening recently would be very suspicious.

Leo thought fast, something he excelled at, fortunately. He turned to him, taking a breath. "Just stay cool. Go with it." He turned fully to face him, sneaking a look at the cop car, and pushed Nico against the fence, much like last night, though he didn't rant to him this time. This time, he stared into his eyes for the briefest second, and then smashed their lips together, kissing him roughly. What could he say? It was the first thing he'd thought of. Or maybe he'd been thinking about it before. Who knew.

Nico didn't even have time to ask what he meant before he was pinned to the fence and Leo was kissing him. Holy Hera, LEO WAS KISSING HIM. He tangled his hands in Leo's hair to make it look more convincing for the police, right? Yeah that's why, he had to admit though, for a first kiss, it wasn't bad.

Ooh, the hands in his hair were a nice touch. Apparently Nico thought quickly, too. Leo continued to kiss him, sneaking looks at the car to their left. The car door opened, and he could see a person staring at them from over the window. "Is this cop a fucking voyeur, or something?" Leo asked, dragging Nico closer and kissing him deeper. Fine, then. If this wasn't getting the cop to leave, there was one other option. Obviously, someone was going to have to start sucking dick. Okay, maybe not that far. But in between kisses, and sneaking glances towards the cop, who was _still_ looking, Leo made up his mind. He let out a high pitched moan, sounding fake to him, but hopefully the cop would be convinced. He heard the door shut quickly, and the car started, doing a u-turn and disappearing down the opposite end of the street.

Nico tried to catch his breath and answer Leo but then he was dragged into another kiss, he wanted the cop to leave just so he could wrap his head around all of this. His face turned bright red when Leo moaned, but at least the cop left. "You mind telling me what the fuck that was?" He asked, feeling dazed after all of that, even if some part of him didn't want Leo to stop.

Leo pulled away, almost immediately. "Sure," He said, grinning. "That was my first kiss with a guy." He looked too smug, too pleased with himself.

Nico almost wanted to punch his smug face, he was so confused. "It was mine too, _stronzo_ " He muttered, needing to get away from Leo just to clear his head. "If the cop is gone we should continue scouting." What the fuck were these feelings?

Unfortunately, Leo felt them too. He almost felt... satisfied, with how that had gone. His skin felt warmer than normal, but it wasn't out of anger. He _almost_ objected just for the hell of it, but he figured he _had_ taken things a bit far, especially with the fake moan, and everything. "Sorry to steal your first kiss," He started, almost sounding genuinely apologetic, "but at least we got the cop to leave, right? It just seemed the most natural thing to do, y'know?"

Nico shook his words off. "It was your first too, sorry it was me." He looked down the street. "Yeah thank the gods, it was the most common sense, especially since he wouldn't fucking leave." He was trying not to think too hard since he needed to be alone to process this, it was a lot. "Good to know they're patrolling more."

Leo looked almost offended that Nico had apologized, but wisely chose not to reply. "Yeah, uh... that might be bad, for us." Luckily, they were in a part of the neighborhood they hadn't been before. "See any houses you wanna hit?" He eyed one, on the very end of the street. "That one looks promising, but the cop car was right next to it. Might be more dangerous~"

Nico looked around. "You think they might have reported? Cause that just makes me want to hit it more." He noted the address and scribbled it down. "Worth a shot, how about that one?" It was a decent sized house with a boat in front. "Looks rich."

"Let's hit it, then." Leo turned his attention to the house with the boat, wrinkling his nose. "That boat doesn't even run," He declared, after stepping a few feet closer. "I can sense the rudder's rusted over, and the spark plugs are worn down." He scowled. "That's a gorgeous boat. They deserved to get robbed. Who buys a boat, and then doesn't take care of it?" He crossed his arms, looking pissed. "Write that one down. I'm bringing the spray paint tomorrow night."

Nico fought the urge to laugh, there was something charming about Leo's concern for machinery. "Noted." He wrote that one down as well, also marking a few others in the neighborhood. "None of these people seem minimalist which is a good sign."

Leo hummed, "Rich people almost never are." He took another step towards the boat, bringing his fist to his lips as if to say something. He let out a tiny little whine, turning around and marching straight back to Nico's side. "I'm gonna steal the boat."

"What?" Nico looked between Leo and the boat. "How are we going to get an entire boat to camp unseen and store it safely, Valdez?" That was his most insane idea yet. "It won't fit anywhere."

He looked at it so _sadly_ , looking back at Nico. "They don't deserve it, Nicoooo~!" His voice was practically a whine, "No one who treats a boat like that deserves to have _anything_ nice in their lives. Fucking assholes." He took a baby step towards it, like it was drawing him in. "It doesn't matter how we transport it, I don't know. We can store it in Bunker Nine, I can fix it up, it'll be the _camp's_ boat..." He was acting as if this were a puppy, or something.

Nico sighed. "Chiron will want to know where it came from..." He saw the look in Leo's eyes, he almost literally couldn't say no, he was adorable. "Fine, it's marked, I can shadow travel it." He just couldn't stand Leo looking so _sad_ , it was like a kicked hellhound.

Leo couldn't yell. It was one thirty in the morning. He couldn't, he could _not_ . He clapped a hand over his mouth, and stuck his fist in the air in victory. "Nico di Angelo, you're a fucking god." He cringed. "Ah, not the best compliment, actually. You're the best thing that ever happened to me." _That_ was true, but admitting it made him feel weird. "You wanna keep scouting? We've got all night, _and_ a surefire way to keep the police off our hands."

Nico couldn't take the compliments, they were twisting his stomach. "Yeah, there's another neighborhood that looks pretty loaded." He chose to ignore the comment about the method of keeping the cops away, there was a battle in him of wanting a reason to kiss Leo again and wanting to avoid it and it was messing with his head.

Well, Leo was _certain_ that he wouldn't mind kissing Nico again, but of course, it was just him being a fucking idiot, again. Still... the kisses had been nice. Maybe he understood why the six had all left him. His good mood faded, just a bit. "Alright, then, let's go. I wanna jot down as many houses as we can. Fuck them _all_ over."

Nico grinned at Leo. "Now that's what I like to hear, come on _inventore_ " It was a stupid nick name but it really just stuck for Leo. Gods, why did everything have to be so confusing yet great? He knew that he liked everything happening, but he just couldn't figure out _why_ and _how_.

That _name_ again. It made him feel all warm. Warmer than he normally felt. "That means inventor, right?" He blurted, looking up at him. "That's what I thought it's meant but again, _no hablo italiano, así que no sé_." He scowled up at him. "You better not be insulting me." It was a fake scowl, obviously. They began walking towards the next neighborhood.

"Yes it means inventor don't worry, I know you call me thief, so I thought it was fitting." Nico was not blushing, you couldn't prove a damn thing. "You should learn some Italian, it's similar enough to Spanish."

Luckily for Nico, it was too dark for Leo to see if he was blushing or not. "Mmm, _ladrón es adecuado para ti, ¿verdad?_ " He looked down, considering it. "I mean, I understand a little bit of what you say, not much, though." He paused, taking out a screw to fiddle with. "If you learn Spanish, I'll try to learn some Italian, deal?"

Nico considered that, it would make things easier if they could understand each other. "Deal, and yes, _il ladro_ , is perfect for me." He chanced a small wink at Leo, making sure his accent was nice and thick on the english in that sentence, just to mess with him.

Oh, that wink. That was a very nice wink. Nico could wink very well, yessiree. Leo scowled, as was his natural response. " _Para tu información_ ," He replied, unleashing the full small latino elf boy, "It's not _il ladro_ , it's _el ladrón_ . That's lesson _numero uno_." He sniffed. "Uncultured swine."

Nico rolled his eyes. "You better start learning it as _il ladro._ " He sassed. "And I'll start learning _el ladrón_." The words rolled off his tongue but the accent was off, still too Italian.

Leo cringed. As awful as it was hearing Americans try to pronounce Spanish words, it was so much weirder to hear a native Italian try to speak. "I'm gonna need some help with that," He said, innocently, sidling right up alongside Nico. "Could you do me a favor and sing 'That's Amore'? I think it'll _really_ help me learn~"

Nico knew it was rough but what did he expect it was so similar yet enough different. He jumped a bit when Leo got closer, letting out an annoyed huff. "Could you do me a favor and _soffocare sul proprio cazzo_?" He shot back, glaring at him.

Leo pieced together the words, _proprio_ , _sul_ , he could figure out what soffocare sounded like, and he'd heard Nico use the word cazzo before. His grin widened. "Sing me the song, oh _grand Italiano_ , and I'll do my best~"

Nico just looked at Leo with confusion laced with concern. "So if I sing that song you'll choke yourself on your own dick? Now that's a talent I've never heard of." He brushed past Leo shaking his head. "I'm not singing it."

Leo batted his eyelashes, refusing to give up. "Hey, I said I'd try my best. And you _know_ I'm always _up_ for a challenge." Was he making Nico uncomfortable? Hard to say, but it was probable. Did Leo care? Not exactly. "What if I paid you?"

Leo was the most stubborn person ever. "Half that song isn't even in Italian, I'm not going to do it, even for all the money in the world, I refuse to be a stereotype." He thought for a minute. "It would be like if I asked you to sing...." Shit he couldn't think of any stereotypical Spanish songs. "I don't know something!" He purposefully ignored the challenge comment related to his dick, one problem at a time.

Leo snickered, "Like you asking me to sing _Despacito?_ " Ugh, he was physically incapable of mispronouncing that word, and ended up saying it correctly. "Because you should ask me, I dare you. Ask me to sing. See what I say."

Nico didn't trust this dare, but he was confused about what Leo meant. "Fine, I dare you to sing Despacito." He didn't even know the song, assuming it was some stupid small folk song or something, oh how he was wrong.

Ohohoho, Leo rubbed his hands together. "Very well, _mio ladro,_ " If you'll notice, he'd called him his thief in Italian. Suddenly, it didn't matter if it was almost two in the morning. Leo took a huge breath, and began to belt, as _quietly_ as he could, still performing with gusto. " _Sí, sabes que ya llevo un rato mirándote~_ " He had the words memorized, because of course he did. " _Tengo que bailar contigo hoy~_ " He danced around Nico, stopping them from continuing to walk until he'd completed a few more lyrics of the song.

Nico found himself blushing at how Leo called him his thief, even if the accent hurt a bit. However his feelings turned to horror as Leo began to dance and sing. "Shut up are you trying to get us caught?" He chased after Leo, trying to cover his mouth so they didn't wake anyone up.

He was still _whispering_ , just... not as quietly as he could have. He let Nico cover his mouth before licking his hand, grimacing at the taste. "Hey, you _asked_ me to sing to you, so I'm singing to you. What did you expect?" He took a breath, looking around. No lights flicked on. No curtains moved. "Do you really think anyone could catch us so easily? Oh, ye of little faith."

Nico yanked his hand back. "That was disgusting." He wiped it on Leo's shirt before remembering it was his shirt. "Fuck, just keep it down I don't want any more cops to cross our path."

Oh, that was disappointing for some reason, but Leo could understand. "And to think, none of this would've happened if you'd just sung me the song... I'll sing more for you, is that what it'll take? I know _Gasolina_ , too. And more."

"Not happening Valdez." He wasn't going to give in, as stubborn as Leo was Nico was just as stubborn. He had to admit though, Leo actually had a pretty voice, he'd like to hear it again at a less inopportune time.

"I'll get that song one way or another, I promise you that." Leo shrugged, relaxing as they walked. They'd reached the new neighborhood, and Leo took a look around. None of these people had boats, thank the gods. Leo totally would've taken them with him. "Alright, _mi ladrón_ , which house do we wanna hit first?"

Nico looked around, noting that some of these houses were more secured. "There's more cameras here, so maybe a low security." He noticed a house that looked relatively unguarded. "Suspicious, but worth looking into, that one."

"That's smart. I _guess_ I won't wink into the cameras anymore. If I can climb high enough to reach them, I can melt the lens and distort their recordings." Leo looked towards the house, up and down. "I like that one. Gives me good vibes. Add that to our list, eh?"

Nico loved how casual this was, like shopping for clothes or something. "I can cover them in shadows while you disable them." He offered, looking around. "Hm, a jeep, might have camping gear?" That would be valuable to Leo surely.

That did pique his interest, and he scurried over to the jeep, peering in the windows. "Mmm, I don't see any camping gear, but..." He gasped, pressing his face to the glass. "A _generator!_ Those are always useful. Let's add this to our list, I've got lots but I want _more_."

Nico smiled, Leo was like a kid at christmas. "Already on the list." He finished scribbling it down. "Whoever invented the camera doorbells deserves punishment." He looked at all the signs warning about them.

Leo flashed him a big smile, so fucking grateful that Nico was along with him. It wasn't just stress-relieving anymore, it was _fun_ . But he wrinkled his nose, slightly. Was this how Percy and Annabeth felt? Or Piper and Jason? He didn't know, and he didn't _want to_. "I agree," He replied, crossing his arms. "At least they're easy to dismantle, though. We'll be fine."

Nico nodded. "You chose the right profession as a son of Hephaestus." No other demigod aside a Hermes child would be able to do what he did. "So, generator, boat, anything else big we can target?"

He tried to turn his head so Nico wouldn't see the bright-as-fire smile on his face. He was proud of himself, amd the compliment made him feel all warm inside. "Thank you," He cleared his throat, "Well, there's a camping RV over there, but RVs don't generally have anything good in them. I say we just stick with houses, unless you see anything you like."

Nico looked around, finding nothing of note. "Nah, I really only can gauge jewels and metals so I'm relying on your knowledge here." He admitted, plus he loved how Leo lit up when he found the perfect thing to steal.

Leo nodded, "Alright, then!" Shit, he lowered his voice. "Alright, then. I say we add the rest of these houses to our list. If anything, we could get 'em all in the same night. That'd be _fucking_ nice, wouldn't it? All these rich people waking up the next morning and _all_ of them have been robbed?" He grinned, practically purring. "What I would give to be a fly on those walls..."

Nico grinned. "That's a great idea, give the neighborhood a fright." He just wrote down the neighborhood name. "I'd love to see their reactions, you think it'll be like the time someone stole Drew's hair dryer?"

He snickered, "Possibly, though I doubt any of these rich pricks are going to be _pulling hair_. You never know, though." He thought a moment. "You know what, we should steal that sometime, too."

Nico shrugged. "You never know, they might." Leo was right, it was ingenious. "Steal all of Drew's hair and make up stuff? Sounds good to me." That would be entertainment for days.

Leo was already thinking of how they could get into the Aphrodite cabin, the smuggest grin crossing his face. "I know I've said this before, _ladrón_ , but I'm so glad you're here. I-" He hesitated. "I'm not by myself, anymore."

Nico was prepared to just brush off what Leo was saying, after all it was a little selfish since he was getting to wreak havoc, but his tone stopped him. "No, you're not, I'm not either. I know you've said it before, but I think during the quest..." He thought for a moment. "We could've been great friends."

There was a moment of silent solidarity between them, and Leo walked on, a little afraid to stop, in case Nico was looking at him. "I wish we could've..." _Maybe things could've been different, if we had become friends earlier._ He shook his head, dismissing the idea entirely. He was happy where he was, now. With Nico. Being an anti-hero. "Let's head back to camp." He said coldly, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I wanna mark up some cabins."

Nico noticed the shift in tone, had he said something wrong? "Yeah, probably a good idea." He kept his head low, a weird twist in his chest. Leo went from seeming happy and content to being cold and distant. "Walk or shadow travel?"

"If you're strong enough to shadow travel, go for it." But he stopped. The question was eating him up, and he closed his eyes, stopping and turning to Nico. "Do you think..." He swallowed, "Do you think we would've ended up... like _this_ , if we'd been friends during the war?" It was the first time Leo had acknowledged that they were _friends_ , now. He hoped he hadn't scared Nico away because of it. At this point, if another person left him, he'd go psycho.

Nico was reaching out to grab Leo when the question hit him, did Leo just call him a _friend_ ? That eased the twist a bit. "What criminals?" He looked at Leo, trying to imagine if they had gotten close on the Argo. "No, we would've stopped some of the stupider decisions, or encouraged them, we..." _Might have kept each other sane_. "We would have fallen into this sooner after the war, at least I think so, we feed each other's craving for raising hell and going against what people want from us."

He listened, taking everything in. His heart twisted painfully, thinking of how they could've acted if they'd been friends on the Argo. He wouldn't have been so bitter. He wouldn't have cared so much about people wanting him, or _not_ wanting him. He wouldn't have felt so abandoned when everyone left him, because Leo would have known Nico wouldn't have left him. Nico had nowhere else to go, either. They could've been outcasts together before Leo could learn how painful it was. An entire year of loneliness, gone away just by climbing up to the Crow's Nest. Leo shivered, feeling unusually cold. "Dwelling on the past is useless. We're partners now, anyway. Friends. _Amigos._ " He cracked a grin, his old fire returning. "Come on, _levantemos el infierno_."

Nico wished that he had found Leo as a friend sooner, maybe things could have been easier, all the hardships, just having someone who wasn't scared of him all the time. But that was the past, this was now, and now? Him and Leo were raising hell and having fun, and that's all that mattered. "Let's go _amico_." He grabbed Leo's arm and transported them to Bunker Nine.

Leo's smile only widened, and he nodded, trying and failing to hide how excited he was. "It would indeed." If he got any more excited he might burst into flame, and the tone of Nico's voice didn't help much. Travis and Connor deserved this. Of course they did. They'd hurt Nico. Payback was justified.

Nico shook the can, working on each letter carefully until the greek was all over the side of the cabin **_έρχεται ο θάνατος_ **. "Think this will do?" He tossed the can back to Leo with a satisfied grin.

He struggled to catch it, but did so, slipping it into his toolbelt. He was sure he'd said it before, but it was so nice to see Nico smile, like that. His heart was acting a little strange, but that might have been the adrenaline of what they were doing. "I think it looks _wonderful_. You're a fucking dream, di Angelo." He jerked his head towards the Aphrodite cabin. "Shall we move on?"

Nico blushed, glad the darkness hid it. "Yeah, you can get this one, it's not personal." He just wanted to see Leo at work and get to watch his twisted brain create. Something about the grins and looks while he was fucking shit up did things to Nico.

Leo sauntered towards the cabin, uncapping the bottle and shaking it vigorously. First, he drew a dick on the door. A very exaggeratedly detailed dick. Second, he went around to the side of the cabin, throwing one more maniacal grin Nico's way, eyes sparkling. ' **_this cabin is cursed with permanent mascara stains_ ** ' It was weak, but he knew it would get at least half the Aphrodite kids into a frenzy. "How's that?"

Nico had to stifle laughter. "They're going to be so confused, ominous warning in brown and a mild curse in blood red." He whispered so he wouldn't wake the sleeping campers. That grin Leo keeps sending Nico's way was killing him, ever since the kiss earlier that night, he kept thinking about kissing him again, which made no sense, they were just friends right?

Leo smacked him lightly on the arm, "Shut _up_ , don't laugh!! You're going to wake someone up." He went to put the bottle into his pocket again, but paused, a lightbulb going off. "...I just had an idea." He said, eyes lit up. "One second." Without another word, he darted towards the nearest cabin, spray painting a line in blood red over the top of their door. He went around to all the cabins, until there was a like on every single door, except the Hermes cabin. He returned to Nico with a smirk. "Religious symbolism."

Nico watched with wide eyes. "Leo, that's so fucked up, I love it." He said quietly, no doubt everyone would be panicking in the morning, and with the Hermes cabin unmarked one of them would take the fall.

His smile was brighter than the sun. "I'm surprised I even remember that story, back from when I was a kid." He looked around, and their handiwork. "Well...? What now?" Turning to Nico. Gods, how good he looked in the pale light of the moon. He looked like a ghost, which was fitting. Were ghosts supposed to be as attractive as Nico di Angelo? He didn't know. Was Leo staring?

Nico noticed Leo staring but assumed it was for guidance. "I don't know, I don't want to mess with any more cabins, leave them on edge you know?" He looked at the moon, it was getting later in the morning. "We should probably get back to our cabins soon, to avoid any possible lectures and what not."

What was this feeling? Nico looked up at the moon, and Leo could see the shine in his eyes. He wished he had a camera, or something. A small shiver of disappointment ran through him, as Nico suggested they part ways. Then he felt mad at himself for it. He knew what this was. Leo swore to himself, if he started getting feelings for Nico he'd throw himself from the rafters of Bunker Nine. He couldn't ruin this friendship. "Yeah, I suppose you're right. I _did_ tell Chiron I'd do my best." He shoved his hands in his pockets with a grumble. He wasn't even tired, too high-strung on adrenaline mixed with the butterflies in his stomach.

Nico wasn't very tired himself, but he knew that he needed to try to be a good camper. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow? Or I guess later today?" He asked hopefully, he didn't want to leave Leo, something was going through him and he almost thought he knew what it was, and if it was, Nico was terrified. He wasn't sure he was ready to try this again.

Leo paused, trying to hide his smile. "Yeah. Later today." He was overcome with an overwhelming urge to kiss his cheek, but didn't fucking dare. "Good night, then. Sleep well." He tucked the spray can into his jacket, not moving.

Nico knew he was going to have to break the awkward standing, seeing as how neither of them seemed to want to. "You too Leo." He waved and basically ran to the Hades cabin. How had so many things he'd been trying to avoid for so long come screaming back to the surface? He needed a long nap.

He _did not_ like how his name sounded on Nico's lips. And by that I mean he very much enjoyed it. He stood there for a little while longer, just staring after him, a stupid, stupid smile on his face. He walked to his cabin, sneaking in and laying in his bed, still not tired at _all_. Nico seemed to be all he could think about. That, and the explosion the a few nights ago. How he'd thrown himself into Nico's arms, and they had disappeared. He refused to let himself feel bad for feeling like this. Nico wasn't here. What he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.


	5. Chapter 5

Now Nico had hoped to sleep in, however this was quickly thrown out the window by an ear shattering scream that threw him awake. He barely grabbed his sword before he was running out of the cabin to see...oh, it was just the Aphrodite kids. He turned to look at the red mark on his door, putting on his best concerned face. "What the hell happened out here?" Mitchell of the Aphrodite cabin was just hyperventilating. "They...someone...LOOK!" Nico didn't need to look, he knew what it was. "Who would do such a thing?" Wow he should really consider acting.

Leo had gotten... maybe another couple hours of sleep. For some reason, his mind refused to let him close his eyes for longer than a few minutes. Eventually he dozed off, mostly due to exhaustion. He was very unpleasantly awoken by the same screams that had roused most of the campers. "What the hell is going on?" He asked, not even having fake being pissed. Lyssa peered out the window, eyes going wide. "There's... oh my gods, Leo, there's blood on the side of the Aphrodite cabin!!" He dressed himself quickly, stopping to peer at himself in the mirror. You could see the exhaustion plain on his face, and mixed with the sullen look and dark circles under his eyes, he looked kind of scary. But Leo didn't want to think about that, and walked to join Nyssa and the other campers. He saw Nico, and amiably wandered to stand near him. "Holy shit. Is that _blood_ on the door?" Leo was proud of his acting skills.

Nico looked around trying to find Leo in the crowd. Suddenly a wave of fear broke out around the Hermes cabin. "DID SOMEONE MARK OUR CABIN FOR DEATH?" Nico really had to fight a smile, after all Chiron was finally joining the group to try to calm campers.

Leo kept his face blank, but as he looked at Nico, you could see it in his eyes. He loved this. He stepped closer to Nico. "Who did this?" Kayla asked, obviously fighting tears. "Why's there blood on everybody's cabin door but Hermes'?"  
  
"At least you guys don't have the _death omen written in shit!_ " Travis shot back, eyes wide.   
  
"Why would you guys _not_ have the mark?" "Somebody drew a blood-dick on our door!!" Mitchell cried.   
  
It was pandemonium, and Leo just _watched_ , until Chiron clopped forward, to the front. "Campers!" He announced, his arms crossed, "Everyone, settle down." Most settled down, looking to the centaur. Leo tuned him out, droning on about how they would figure out what this meant, who could have possibly done it, as well as testing the blood to find out to whom it belonged. Leo couldn't help but roll his eyes, though pleased by his work. They hadn't figured out it was just magical spray paint. He dismissed the campers, sending them to breakfast. Most went to breakfast, but Leo turned to Nico, flashing him a smile. "Crazy, huh?" He said casually. "Do you think it's real blood?" He couldn't smirk, it would draw attention. But _god_ , how he wanted to.

Nico just watched the chaos, trying to keep a neutral expression but the way everyone was screaming was just too good. He didn't leave for breakfast, not when Leo was walking over to him. "It's insane, sure hope it's not real blood, or there's a dead body around here somewhere." He said it loud enough for the remaining campers to look at him horrified, he didn't care.

He had to hide his laugh by breaking into a coughing fit, nearly doubling over. "Oh my gods!! Don't say things like that, I'm gonna be so paranoid now!" Leo finally regained his composure, looking back up at Nico with the briefest hint of a smile on his face. "You look tired." What a hypocrite.

Nico saw the smile and it was enough for him. "Rough night sleeping, and Drew's scream woke me up." He groaned, rubbing his eyes. "You look like a zombie yourself, please tell me you got some sleep last night."

Leo scoffed, "You would know what a zombie looks like, wouldn't you, death boy?" He cringed, but covered it up with a little grin. "Course I slept last night. Got all eight hours~" They were alone now, which justified the flirty nature.

Nico rolled his eyes. "Not all zombies are the same, flame boy." That was lame, that was so lame. "If you say so." He looked around to make sure they were alone since Leo was so flirty, he liked it, but other people sucked. "Just can't have you passing out on me."

"Oooh, flame boy." Leo pretended to consider the name, before nodding. "Original, a little weak on the delivery, but I'll take it. Seven out of ten. And _please_ , I know how to keep myself _awake_ , Neeks. I'm not anywhere near passing out. Relax."

Nico shoved at Leo. "Did you seriously just rate my nickname? Cause then I give ‘Neeks’ a zero out of ten, never again." He huffed. "Fine, I just don't want to be left with no guard tonight, okay?" He also just really didn't want to see Leo pass out.

Leo let himself get shoved, crossing his arms. "Well fine, what do _you_ want me to call you? _Mr. di Angelo?_ That's boring." He pouted, looking around for other campers before leaning up to whisper in his ear. "Do you want me to call you Daddy?"

Nico stiffened and pushed Leo away, face a bright red. "No! What...no!" He was so embarrassed, it was bad enough Leo whispered in his ear, but that...that was something he didn't want to imagine. "What happened to _ladrón_?" He asked quietly.

Holy _fuck_ , Nico di Angelo looked gorgeous with a blush. He reminded Leo of snow white. That was a weird thought, what the fuck. "Fine, fine," He sighed, shaking his head as if disappointed. "I only call you that when we're..." He inclined his head, slightly. "You know. You're not a thief when you're not stealing." Nico was sure stealing _something_ from Leo, but he wasn't quite ready to admit that, yet. "Fuck off. I'm gonna get breakfast. See you later, _Daddy_." He laughed to himself, before darting away before Nico could even think to try to grab him.

That didn't mean Nico didn't lunge for him. Who did Leo think he was? Getting him all flustered and embarrassed then running away? He grumbled and went off to breakfast, figuring he should try to get something in his stomach.

The messages on cabins were all anyone could talk about, and Leo chimed in with his own (incorrect) suspicions about who had done it, as well as what they all meant. It was obvious the Aphrodite cabin's message had been for fun, but... they weren't sure, about Hermes. Rumors of Kronos spread, as well as Gaea, but Chiron was quick to shut them down. Once it was announced the blood was actually just spraypaint, the paranoia seemed to diminish. Leo managed to start the rumor that the Stolls had done it, and was delighted when Chiron interrupted his archery lesson to speak to them. That night, Leo was already by the woods, waiting for Nico. It didn't make sense to meet up at Bunker Nine if they were going to the woods anyway. Leo was excited for tonight. He'd already cleared a space for the boat in the bunker, determined to have it fixed by the next day.

Nico avoided everyone, he knew that he was by nature going to be on the suspect list, he just hoped Leo would do enough to point suspicion elsewhere. The day dragged, the Stolls got pulled out of archery for a talk which made Nico grin like a madman, well when no one was looking anyway. What's worse all day long Leo's flirting from the morning stuck with him, it was infuriating yet he didn't hate it. He knew from talking to Leo earlier to meet in the woods, he walked so he'd have enough energy to bring the boat back. He approached Leo, fighting a smile already. "Hey there, hot stuff." See? Two could play at that game.

Leo had turned immediately, looking,,,, rather shocked, honestly. "Damn," He said, praying the light was low enough that Nico wouldn't see how his cheeks were turning red. "Did it take you all day to think of that one?" He wasn't flustered. You couldn't fucking prove anything.

"No, I have natural talent." A huge fucking lie. "Are you ready to head out? We'll have to walk so I don't die on the way back." A joke, but also a serious concern. "Come on." He noticed Leo looked a little flustered but really chose to say nothing so Leo wouldn't hide.

"Natural talent, huh? I've yet to see it," He teased, and nodded, beginning to walk already. "I was planning on walking already. It's nice out, the night air isn't too bad." That comment made him concerned. "Whaddya mean _die?_ I can't have my right-hand man die on me."

Nico shrugged. "Maybe not die, but I could turn into a shadow and disappear if I use too much of my power." He said casually, it was a part of his life, he knew the risks. "I won't die, but it's ideal to have as much energy as possible."

Leo's eyes grew as wide as fucking dinner plates. " _Shadow?_ Holy Hera, _Neeks,_ you didn't tell me that! All this time and I've been thinking you were just... fine shadow travelling us around? I don't want you to disappear!!"

Nico didn't know why Leo was freaking out. "Yeah, it's fine, I've only come close once during the giant war, been fine ever since." He assured him. "I'm not going to disappear, I've been fine."

Leo took a deep breath. He wasn't going to lose Nico. It was fine. He was fine. It was fine. "Are you sure the boat isn't going to be too much for you?"

Nico nodded. "If the Athena Parthenos didn't kill me dragging it halfway across the world, a boat isn't going to kill me, worry less, _il mio inventore_ " He ruffled Leo's hair, not really sure why, but it was so soft he didn't want to move his hand away.

"I _guess_ that's true." Besides, Nico wasn't weak, like him. He could handle it. If he said he could handle it, he could. "Alright, then. We're still walking, though. I like the aesthetic." He looked up at him, at the hand in his hair. "Are you trying to non verbally convey your dominance over me by reminding me that I'm shorter than you?"

"Walking is good." He took his hand back and snorted. "No, if I wanted to assert my dominance non verbally I think there would be better methods, don't you, _bello_?" He threw in a wink, praying that it didn't translate well and that he wasn't being too overly flirty, this was fine right? He wasn't risking his friendship.

Okay, what the _fuck_ did _that_ mean? He knew what it meant. Did he? For how quickly his brain worked, he couldn't really even reply. He was silent for, like, maybe four whole seconds, before he looked up at him, conveniently right under a lit street lamp, illuminating his face, which was a little bit flushed. "Are you—are you _sure_ you were raised in the goddamned forties?" He finally managed.

Wow four whole seconds of silence, Nico was afraid he had broken him. Still, he looked so beautiful under the streetlights, and that blush was doing wonders, he really needed to stop having these thoughts. "Yes, for only ten years of my life, I do read you know, and the modern day makes information so easy to access." He smirked at Leo.

Listen, Leo was _totally_ fine with having these thoughts. As long as he never shared them with Nico. At least he could probably jack off to this later. But he swore he was about to burst into flame. Why did Nico have to be such a tease? That smirk. One of his hands caught flame, unexpectedly, and he batted at it until it went out, turning up to scowl at him, still quite flushed. "You sure do talk a lot of shit for someone who had their first kiss in front of an _officer of the law_ , _maravilloso._ "

Now it was Nico's turn to be flustered. "Wasn't that your first kiss too, _bello_?" He argued, he couldn't help it, Leo had called him gorgeous. How was he supposed to react? He found it amusing how his hand caught on fire but he didn't like the scowl, he preferred the evil grins and malicious joy on his face.

Man, Leo hoped Nico didn't know what _maravilloso_ meant. That'd be a fuckin shame, huh. "Yeah it was, but I'm not the one claiming to fucking _assert my dominance_ am I?" He asked, still scowling, though it was more of a pout than a real upset scowl. "What does _bello_ mean?" He asked, sulking.

Nico rolled his eyes. "What else am I supposed to do? You're not like everyone else." Oops that was a slip, and of course the one time Leo wants him to explain. "It uh...means jerk." He said with a blush, that was an awful lie even by his standards.

"I _know_ I'm not like everyone else," Leo boasted with a grin, "There's nobody else like me, you know. I'm one of a kind." He paused, looking up at Nico. "Well, what a coincidence. _Maravilloso_ means jerk, too. Isn't language _beautiful?_ " He drawled, putting his hands in his pockets.

Nico knew he'd been caught, he sighed. "Yeah it sure is, imagine that." He kicked at a rock in the road, embarrassed at being caught out with that one. "It's such a _gorgeous_ thing." He couldn't let Leo have all the teasing.

Now it was Leo's turn to be embarrassed and he put his head down, intensely studying his shoes. They were pretty beat up. "I hate you. _Stupid_." They'd reached the house, thank the gods.

And back to things Nico didn't understand. "No you don't." He teased. He saw the boat and was kinda glad that Leo couldn't fight back. "Load up anything you want into the boat and we'll take it back too."

"No, I do." He grumped, but lightened up immediately as he saw the boat. "Can you sense anything of worth in the house? There's a possibility we won't even need to go inside." Leo jogged up to the boat, putting a hand on it. "I'm gonna fix you," He whispered. It was an inanimate object, of course, but Leo didn't give a shit. For all he cared, this was now his child.

Nico watched Leo talk to the boat like it was his baby, it was actually pretty adorable, not that he would ever admit it. He tried to feel for anything but came back with nothing major. "Nope, this is really it."

Leo grimaced. "Good. I hope I'm taking their livelihood. They don't deserve shit for how they've treated this boat." He looked to Nico. "This is it, then."

There was the Leo he enjoyed. "Hold on tight then, this could be bumpy." He wrapped an arm around Leo's waist and grabbed the boat. It took a lot more energy and they were in the darkness longer, but eventually they appeared in Bunker Nine, with a pale, shaking Nico.

Leo's heart was racing. Why were they in the dark for so long? By the time they landed, Leo was freezing. But he looked at the boat and cheered. "We got it!!" He turned to Nico, ready to give him a high five, or something. Or maybe a kiss. But he didn't expect to see him... like that. "Di immortales, _Nico!_ Are you okay?" He reached out, touching his arm.

Nico turned to Leo, swaying on his feet, he was so tired. "As a great man once said." He slurred out. "With great powers, comes the great need to take a nap." He barely got those words out before he collapsed. He was just so drained, he hadn't moved that much in a long time and he hadn't been sleeping enough.

Leo practically fell forward to catch him in his arms,ending up on his knees with Nico's head and shoulders in his lap. He knew he was going to be okay, his brain knew it. But his heart was racing like lightning. "You're gonna be fine. Do you need ambrosia? I have ambrosia." There were beds, in a few back rooms. "You're gonna be fine, _querido_ , I promise." Suddenly he was sorry he asked Nico to bring the boat. Had he needed it? At the expense of Nico's health?

Nico tried to get his vision to clear but there were three Leos, that was fun. "I just...need sleep." He was so tired and Leo's lap was so comfy. He tried to stay awake but it was futile, he quickly passed out to the sound of Leo's voice and the feeling of his hands, it was the most beautiful way to fall asleep.

"Shit, okay, uh, I can bring you to a—" But Nico's eyes had closed, and his head had fallen back further into Nico's lap. Leo let out a small curse in Spanish, unsure of what to do. He didn't want to disturb him, but... his legs would go numb, in this position. He let him sleep for maybe five minutes, before picking him up, surprised and slightly concerned at how light he was. Damn, Nico needed to eat more. How were they supposed to rob houses together when Nico was like this? Leo made a mental note to try to get him to eat more. It being a bunker, there were, of course, rooms to sleep in. Each one of the seven had a bedroom in Bunker Nine, and Leo hadn't touched them, as much as he'd wanted to. He had held onto the futile dream that one day, they would all come back to him and they could be just as they were before. Nico didn't have a room of his own here, but even if he had, Leo would have made the same decision. He carried him gently, bridal style, into his own room. The walls were concrete, covered in blueprints and posters. The floor, also concrete, was littered with machine parts. There was a prototype of a strange looking scepter, but it was half-finished and lie forgotten on the floor. As carefully as he possibly could, Leo pushed back the blankets, lying him down gently, and pulled the covers up. "Please sleep well, _mi ladrón_ ," He said softly, looking at him. It was a little cold, so he threw on an extra blanket. Leo couldn't help himself, smoothing back the hair on Nico's forehead. He looked so fucking peaceful while he slept. Half of him wanted to crawl into bed with him, but he knew he couldn't. Couldn't risk Nico leaving him, too. So he sat, looking at him for a few more minutes, before standing, flipping off the light. There was a candle burning on the bedside table, almost like a nightlight for him, when he woke up.

Leo tried to sleep in Percy's room, but yet again, his brain refused to turn off. He spent the night tinkering away at the boat, making sure everything was in tip-top shape. He got in a few exhaustion naps here and there, but otherwise, the night remained sleepless.

Nico slept for hours, eventually waking up, disoriented and heavy. His eyes felt glued shut and he distinctly remembered passing out on the floor, wouldn't be the first time. He forced his eyes open, looking around at the cold concrete room, it had blueprints and parts, he was still in the bunker then. He sat up slowly, every muscle screaming in protest, it was obviously Leo who put all the blankets on, and carried him to bed. He smiled at the thought of Leo carrying him, it was probably nothing. Eventually he managed to get his body to move enough to get out o bed, trudging to the main workshop, he'd forgotten how much it sucked to over exert his powers. "Leo you awake?" He called out.

 _Obviously_ Leo was awake. He'd taken out the motor of the boat and was sitting on the floor, cross legged and working intently. There was motor oil up to his elbows, and he had some smudges on his forehead where he'd instinctively pushed back the mop of curls. He stood immediately, giving him a traditional Leo Valdez smile. " _You're_ awake!" He said happily, but could tell Nico was sore. "Do you want ambrosia? Sit down, stop walking, I'll get you some right now." He was in a semi-manic sleep deprived high right now, and ran towards the bench, head pounding, but he didn't care. He couldn't seem to find any ambrosia, but there was nectar in a flask inside the drawer, and he brought him that. "How ya feelin', Ghost King?"

Nico was so confused that one, Leo was awake and chipper, two that he seemed to be in the middle of a project, and three he was actually seeming to care about Nico's wellbeing. He did as he was told and sat, his body groaning. "Did you even sleep?" He asked, voice still kinda slurry from sleep and all. "I'm fine, in pain, but alive." He took the flask, immediately drinking some, smiling as the warmth settled in his bones, relieving some of the pain.

"Here and there," His answer was brief, shaking his head from side to side. "I feel fine, though. I'm glad you feel fine. We're all fine. I fixed the boat!" He turned to the boat, which looked sparkly and clean. "But the alternator was busted, so the marine battery was dead, but I have it charging up over there. I'm just cleaning all the grease off from the motor. _Holy Hades_ , these people took shitty care of their boat. I'm so glad you rescued it. I'm so glad you feel better." With his gratitude expressed, he kissed Nico on the cheek, getting a bit of oil onto Nico's jawline before going back to the motor, sitting down and resuming his work as if he hadn't just invaded Nico's personal space. "Are you hungry? I've got snacks in _that_ ," he pointed, "drawer. Go ahead, take anything you want!"

Nico watched as Leo flitted around like a nymph on crack. "You may as well be speaking Spanish, I don't know what any of the words meant. But sure." He mumbled, freezing as he felt lips on his cheek, he didn't even notice the oil because _Leo fucking Valdez just kissed his cheek_. He touched it softly, watching him move. "Yeah, I'll do that." He reached over and grabbed a small bag of cheez its, still in shock, maybe it was his brain still trying to jump start after last night.

"You should really eat more," Leo said after a moment, looking up at Nico. "I thought you were going to, like, die, yesterday. Scared the living Hades outta me. I mean—I knew you wouldn't _die_ , but I didn't want you to die. Y'know?" It would be a surprise if Nico _did_ know, honestly. Leo hummed along to a silent song, getting up every so often to switch out tools. His eyes were burning, but it was okay. He was okay. Things were fine. "Do you know what time it is?" He asked, looking up and smiling at him. There was a shitty clock on the wall, reading tiny numbers. Leo's vision was too cloudy to read it.

Nico glared at Leo, what was it to him if he ate or not? "I was fine, it just took more energy than I thought." He mumbled. "Don't worry so much." He glanced at the clock. "Seven am, an hour until the rest of camp wakes up."

At Nico's words, Leo seemed to deflate. His eyes became hollow-looking for a quick moment. "Seven AM," He repeated, murmuring. _Seventy-two hours._ That's how long it had been. In the past month, he'd been sleeping maybe half the recommended amount, but in the past three days, it had dwindled to barely anything. It was taking a heavy toll, but Leo would ignore that for as long as he could. "Well, I'll take you on a romantic boat ride to make up for the lost energy," He said, barely even aware he was saying it. "Once I finish cleaning this gods-damned motor. And—I need to replace the rudder. And test out the new marine battery. And make sure the windows are all cleaned." He paused, looking over at Nico, saying an entire few sentences in Spanish before he remembered that Nico couldn't understand him. "Fuck, I mean—you can leave anytime, if you want. You don't have to stay. But we should meet up at the forest again tonight, maybe one? I wanna try _two_ houses this time."

Nico was so tired his brain wasn't processing everything, so Leo was safe for now. "That's a lot still, Leo, you look exhausted." He said, finishing his snack. "Are you sure you don't want me to stay?" The look on Leo's face was more concerning than anything. "If you say so, forest at one."

Of course Leo wanted him to stay. Leo wanted to kiss him. Leo wanted to do a lot more than kiss him, that's for fucking sure. But even in his incredibly sleep deprived state, he knew he couldn't say that. If he said it, Nico would leave, and then he'd be alone. He couldn't be alone anymore. "I may _look_ exhausted, but I feel on top of the world!" His exclamation was tinged with a hint of insanity. "Forest at one, baby. Be there or be square. Maybe I'll wear heels." Literally fucking what was this bitch saying. He didn't fucking know.

Nico wasn't sure abou Leo's sanity but he'd leave him to it. "Right, try to get a meal in, and a nap." He knew it was hypocritical but Leo was freaking him out a bit. " _Ciao il mio bello inventore._ " He remembered too late that Leo knew what bello meant. He smiled awkwardly and booked it out of the bunker, choosing to walk so he didn't drain himself further, this was becoming messy very fast.

"Goodbye, you beautiful bitch!" Leo called after him, still working on the boat. "See you at one." He mumbled.


	6. Chapter 6

He'd come out of the bunker twice, once to eat, and once because he'd forgotten his toolbelt at the pavilion. He hadn't remembered even taking it off, but he was thankful no one had touched it. The sun seemed to burn extra hot down upon him that day, and with every moment spend outside, the worse and worse his headache got. He didn't really even know what time it was. He didn't want to get up to look at the clock, one because he wasn't sure he could even read it, and two, he wasn't sure if he could even stand. He'd been working on the boat the entire day, and was sitting on the cushy seat in the boat, cleaning the glass for maybe the sixth time. Of course, he'd tried to sleep. But sleep refused to come, which made his headache worse. Every time he opened his eyes, they burned like fire. He was pretty sure he'd caught fire once or twice in the past day, but he couldn't remember. Eventually he got too tired to move the rag around the glass, and he ended up just sitting there, staring at the floor. He wasn't sleeping, but he sure as hell wasn't coherently conscious, either. What time was it?

Nico went through his day, basically hiding in his cabin to recover, he needed it if they were going to hit two houses that night. He was only bothered once by Chiron asking where Leo was, he lied and said he didn't know, hadn't seen him. A bit concerning that he knew they were close, but it could be brushed off. Finally the time came, he slipped into the woods and waited...and waited...and waited. He was getting more concerned the longer it took Leo to show up, had something gone wrong in the bunker? Did he die? He decided to go there first, that's where he had to be. He entered the bunker to the sight of Leo, sitting on the floor, looking dead. Nico was by his side in an instant, feeling for pulse and life force. "Leo, _che cazzo?_ " He asked, trying to calm down. "I waited for you what's wrong?"

He barely even registered the figure in front of him until he heard his voice, and blinked, snapping to attention. "...Nico?" What fucking day was it? "OH!" Leo opened his eyes wider, as much as it pained him to do so, and made a move to stand up, "Shit, sorry, is it one am already? Sorry, sorry, I... was working so hard I didn't even realize. Two houses tonight! _Vamos, entonces, estamos perdiendo el tiempo._ " His words were smearing together like a hand drawing across wet ink. "Come on, help me up."

Nico ran over to Leo, supporting him. "Oh no, you're not going anywhere, when's the last time you slept?" He asked, moving him to a chair. "You look like death." He knew this was sleep deprivation, having been in this very situation.

Leo blinked, swaying slightly as Nico helped him to sit down. "I slept like... last night," He mumbled, shooting him a small glare. "I'm _fine_ , stupid, I'm cool. I slept last night. We're fucking robbing people tonight. Ain't no sleep for the wicked, amiright?"

Nico had a hard time believing that. "No, there is rest for the wicked, because you're going to get us killed in this state." He said, Leo needed sleep, away from his machines, in a peaceful place, no work, nothing. "Seriously, Leo."

"How do you know what's good for me?" He accused, rubbing at his eyes. "I gotta wash the fucking _ventanas de nuevo, las ensuciaste de nuevo_ ." He looked up at him, letting out a small groan. " _Bésame, Nico. Por favor, bésame. Quiero que lo hagas. Me vas a dejar, pero quiero que lo hagas._ " He was mumbling, mixing between Spanish and English, too tired to consciously figure out which one Nico would be able to understand. " _Yo quiero dormir, Nico._ "

Nico was not having it. "Hey come on leave them." He was able to piece together pieces, enough to get that Leo was afraid he'd leave him? And something similar to kiss me but honestly he didn't speak spanish so maybe not. "I know, Leo, we're gonna get you some sleep." He needed to think fast, a quiet private place...that's it. "Hold on." He pulled Leo close and traveled them to the Hades cabin.

Oh, hm. Leo wasn't complaining in the slightest when Nico pulled him close, but the cold that swept through his bones woke up him just a bit. His legs gave out and he fell into Nico as they landed, looking around through hazy eyes. Everything was _dark_ . " _¿Que mierda?_ Where are we? Nico, did you _kidnap me?_ " He tried to pull away from him, but he smelled kinda good. Plus, he'd just sink to the floor, if Nico let him get away. "I wanna go back, I wanna fix my boat. Let me fix my boat, dickwad!" His complains were feeble, though.

Leo didn't stand a chance since Nico was well rested. "I didn't kidnap you, and you're not working on that damn boat Valdez!" He nudged him towards the bed, making him lay down. "You're going to sleep, and then tomorrow we'll go through with the plan."

Leo scowled, though he had to admit, his eyes _burned_ . "You can't make me," He said, giving him the finger. "And you _did_ kidnap me, I'm a kid and you've napped me. You're... you're napping me. You're making me nap. Stop making me kidnap myself!" He stared at Nico for a moment with wide eyes, and then bolted off the bed, trying to make it to the door.

"You're eighteen, Valdez, shut up." Nico watched as Leo ran for it, however a sleep deprived Leo is no match for a Nico with a day of rest. He lunged after him, picking him up and throwing him on the bed. "Sleep, now." He said in a very commanding tone.

Before Leo even had a chance to breathe, he'd been picked up and tossed. He was sober enough to know not to cry out, he _knew_ what time it was, but he still let out an 'oof' as he hit the bed. Damn, that was kinda hot. "Oooh, that tone, are you trying to get me hard?" He asked, too tired to even think about what was revealing. Maybe... maybe sleeping would be okay. It smelled like Nico in here. Leo was okay with that. "I don't _want_ to sleep," He bit out, though it was getting harder and harder to keep his eyes from closing. His head sunk into the pillow. God, a real bed felt so good. "Will you kiss me goodnight~?" He drawled, opening his eyes just slightly to look up at him.

Nico blushed. "What? No..." Leo was sleep deprived, he was just saying nonsense. "Sleep will be good." He tucked Leo in, trying not to look at him as he said that. "Leo...you're tired, go to bed." He didn't know what he was saying, he didn't want that from Nico, it had been once, to hide, that's it.

Leo made a sad little noise, but melted into the bed, eyes falling closed immediately. "You'd better be sleeping too, _bello_ ," He mumbled. "If I wake up t'morrow and see you awake I'm beating your ass." He sounded... surprisingly cognizant for someone who'd been too tired to stand only moments earlier.

Leo was killing him, his voice and the way he butchered the Italian, it went through him like electricity. "I will, I promise." Ignoring there was only one bed, he'd slept worse places than a cabin floor.

Leo waited for a moment, then opened one eye, with great difficulty. "Well?”

"Well what?" Nico was genuinely confused. "I'm going to sleep don't worry." He moved to go across the cabin and chill on the floor for a night.

Both his eyes opened, and he raised his head, looking at him as if he were crazy. "Then why the fuck are you going over there?"

"To sleep?" What was the issue with that? "I thought you wanted me to."

" _¿Eres estúpido o qué? Idiota._ " Leo brought his hand up, beckoning him over. "C'mere."

Nico looked at him like he was crazy. "I'm not stupid you are, there's only one bed." Even so, he stepped closer.

"You fucking numbskull." It was mumbled, but there was a small smile on his face. "It smells like you. It's your bed. Come fucking here and fucking sleep with me." He knew how that sounded. He didn't care. He beckoned again. "It's too hot. I need someone to come cool me down. How 'bout the cool Italian. He seems cool."

Nico blushed deeply. "What the fuck, Leo?" He hesitantly stood next to the bed. "You just need to sleep." He loved the compliments and everything but Leo was a little out of his mind at the moment. "You don't want me in the bed with you."

Mmm. He had fallen right into his trap. Leo was up immediately grabbing his arms and pulling him down into bed. "And so do _you_ ." He ignored his claim that Leo didn't want him in bed with him, because goddamn, that wasn't true. Before Nico could do _anything_ , Leo had koala'd around him, keeping him in the bed. "Go to _sleep_." He growled, near his ear.

Nico let out a small cry as he was pulled into bed, face beet red as Leo wrapped around him. He wanted to struggle, he really did, but then Leo growled in his ear and he was mush, very hot and bothered mush. "Right...good night then." He didn't think he was going to sleep much.

Immediately, Leo was calm, closing his eyes and humming happily. "Goodnight, then. _Dulces Michaelños._ " Within maybe thirty seconds, he was dead asleep, still clinging to Nico like his life depended on it.

" _sogni d'oro_ " Nico whispered. He waited a bit, trying to wriggle out of Leo's grip so he wouldn't be mad in the morning, but one thing about Leo, he was stronger than he looks and determined, Nico wasn't getting out of it. So, he simply gave in, he relaxed in Leo's arms, the smell of the bunker surrounding him, it was weirdly comforting. Sooner than he thought he was asleep, without a whisper of a nightmare.


	7. Chapter 7

Nico woke up, in his bed, in his cabin, like usual, what wasn't usual was the human very attached to him. It took his sleep-addled brain a few seconds to remember the night before, and looked down to see Leo cuddled against his chest, this was fine. He tried to separate himself from his attachment without waking him, he was uh, a little bothered at the moment and he needed to breathe.

As sleep deprived as Leo Valdez was, he was an incredibly light sleeper. And he'd never slept in a bed with anyone else before, so even Nico's smallest movements caused him to stir. Leo had never had a pillow that felt this cool. Strange. He shifted, on the verge of waking up, but not quite awake, and moved so that his face was squished closer to the pillow.

Nico froze, why was Leo getting _closer_? "Leo, wake up." He nudged him gently, this was a lot for him and the feelings since the kiss were intensifying with the proximity. "Get up." He poked him again.

Leo twitched, groaning softly and moving away from the pokes. Eventually he opened his eyes, looking blankly around before his eyes fell on Nico's. Oh, shit. _Oh, shit_ . He slowly drew his hands back from where they'd been, wrapped around Nico's back and scooted away. "Good.... uh.... good morning." He tried to think back on what the fuck had happened to leave them waking up like this, but they still had all their clothes on, which already answered one question. He could _kind of_ recall the main events, though details were a bit fuzzy. "Did you... pick me up and _throw_ me onto your bed?" He asked, remembering a certain memory from last night. "What the fuck even happened?"

At this point all of Nico's blood was in his face. "Well you wouldn't sleep." He mumbled, quickly getting out of bed. "I found you on the floor of the bunker half asleep if you can call it that, you looked dead. So I brought you here, you tried to run, I threw you in bed, you made me get into bed with you, I think somewhere in there you asked me to kiss you." As he remembered everything he got flustered.

"Oh." Leo looked a little pale. "Did you?" What the _fuck_ , why would he ask that!! He shook his head, vehemently, "Do not answer that." He closed his eyes, still honestly quite tired. "I'm sorry if I made you, uh, uncomfortable with anything I did." He hesitated, closing his eyes and wishing he didn't have to open them. He'd gotten a good amount of sleep, but was still incredibly exhausted. "I didn't mean half the things I said, probably."

Oh, that actually hurt. "Well for the record I didn't, and...I wasn't uncomfortable, I just wasn't sure, you we're really out of it." He said trying to stay calm, _he didn't mean what he said, I need to calm down._ "You should probably go to your own cabin soon."

Leo groaned, rubbing his eyes, "I'm _still_ really out of it." He took a look around, frowning slightly. "Man, I kinda like it in here. You're really kicking me out? Lame." He shook his head, rolling out of Nico's bed. "I guess I should." Why did he sound disappointed? WHY? "Can we still hang out, tonight, though? I'm probably just going to go sleep for another few hours, so I'll be rested for tonight." He tried not to look hopeful. "Can we?"

Nico didn't want to kick Leo out but he needed to think, and to process. "Yeah got my own stuff to do." He looked at Leo, smiling at him, he still wanted to hang out and commit crimes, that was a good sign. "Yeah, wouldn't miss it for the world _il mio inventore_." It was his favorite nickname for him.

Leo was caught up in that smile, staring for definitely too long. "Cool, then. I'll, uh, see you at one? At the forest. And I _swear_ I'll be there this time." He snickered, stepping into his shoes and putting a hand on the door. "Thanks for that, by the way." He said, tilting his head to the bed. "I would have gone crazy, without you." He shouldn't say it. Don't say it. Do not say it. "I hope I get to be in here more often~" Fuck. He opened the door and disappeared through it, letting it close behind him.

Yeah Nico was definitely confused, not by the meeting at one, that was their plan always, but what did he mean by he wanted to be in here more often? The Hades cabin was creepy as fuck, even he didn't want to be in it some days. He flopped on the bed, trying to process it all, hiding his face in a pillow that smelled faintly of Leo which made him smile. Something happened last night and it made him anxious for tonight.

Leo went back to his cabin, greeted by Nyssa, who rightfully asked where the Hades he'd been all day and night. He ignored her, and went straight back to bed. He woke up before dinner, feeling slightly less tired than he had before. Nobody talked to him at this table, which he was more than okay with. Why would he want to talk to people who didn't like him. His eyes wandered over to Nico. He wished Nico knew morse code. They could have a conversation if he knew morse code. Dinner ended, and Leo left without a word. He tried to force himself to wait until one am, and when it finally came around, he had several hours of pent up energy. He ran to the treeline, waiting for Nico and setting leaves in fire to keep him occupied.

Nico actually attended all of his lessons, anything to not think about the night before constantly. Leo was an enigma that was consuming him and he wasn't sure how he felt about that, he was so used to not having anyone, now he had a friend, should he risk it for the chance of something more? By one in the morning Nico had so much nervous energy he didn't even walk, he phased out of the shadows right behind Leo. "You know, I don't think the nymphs would like you doing that." He said, catching Leo burning leaves.

Leo looked up at him with a smirk. "You know, I don't think _Chiron_ would like _us_ doing _this_ , and yet here we are." He burned another leaf, standing up and adjusting his shirt. It was Nico's, since he'd never given it back. "Ready for some fun?"

"I'm more scared of the nymphs." He admitted, they were scarier than they looked. "Ready as I'll ever be, shadow travel?" He offered Leo his hand, he didn't want to shadow travel just because he got to hold Leo, it was unrelated, absolutely.

"Yeah, I'm too lazy to walk." He stepped a little closer to Nico, taking his hand. "Do your thing, _mi ladrón._ " He was a little scared of the nymphs himself, but shook it off. He was fire, he'd be fine.

Nico pulled Leo a little closer than necessary, wrapping an arm around his waist, he couldn't deny he was missing it from that morning. Soon they were in a familiar neighborhood, but Nico hadn't let go of Leo, he was just enjoying it selfishly for a moment.

Had Nico always held him this close? Leo swore he would never get used to the cold feeling that went through him every time he shadow traveled. He looked up at all the houses, grinning happily. He didn't dare bring attention to the fact that Nico's arm was still around him, he selfishly loved it. "Alright, which house is on the menu tonight?"

"We could always go for the generator you were eyeing, I think I sensed some stuff inside too." He regretfully stepped away, putting space between him and Leo, he didn't want to make him too uncomfortable. "Or we could do two houses, dismantle that ring doorbell system over there then nab the generator and get home free?" He was fond of that idea.

Damn it, now Leo was _cold_. Not that Nico would have made him any warmer, he was practically an ice-box, but still. "I like the two house idea," He said with an absent-minded sigh. "Let's do that. I'm in a mood to fuck as many things up as I can, tonight, how 'bout you?"

Was there a platonic way to say 'I would do anything as long as I'm with you'? Probably not so Nico opted for a less loaded answer. "After two calm nights, I'm ready for chaos." He agreed, making his way to the house. "How fast can you dismantle that doorbell?"

"You wanna time me?" He asked, throwing him a wild grin. Before he could answer that, there was a screwdriver in Leo's hand and he'd removed the doorbell from the wall. Switching out the screwdriver for wire cutters, he snipped all three and let the doorbell fall to the porch floor. "That fast." He was so fucking proud of himself for it. He turned to the door, making short work of the lock, and let it swing open. "Shall we proceed?"

Nico wasn't shocked that Leo dismantled it with ease, but watching him work was fascinating, it was like magic. "Lead the way, _prediletto._ " He said entering the house. "They're home." He whispered, taking extra care all of a sudden.

Man, Leo wished he knew Italian. He looked to Nico, not even bothering to hide the wicked smile. "Mmm, I love when they're home. What do you sense? Anything?" He went to the living room, spotting a decorative teapot and grabbing it.

Nico looked around, focusing hard. "Hm, antique silverware, and they store a lot of jewelry in the bathroom, you'd think people would learn." He grumbled, sneaking over to grab the silverware.

"Oooh, antiques~" Leo whispered, holding back laughter. "Just like you, forties boy." He slipped the teapot into his toolbelt, "I got the bathroom."

Nico shook his head. "You just won't let that one go, and it was the thirties." He argued quietly. He gathered everything, slipping them into a bag of his own, it wasn't magical like Leo's but it sure held stuff.

Leo disappeared to the bathroom, opening cupboards and inspecting shelves. There was a jewelry box that he opened. "Jackpot," He murmured, seeing a couple strings of pearls. He put it in his bag, about to leave when he spotted the pill bottle next to the sink. Huh. Advil. He grabbed it, heading back out to meet Nico, when a light flicked on, from the one of the rooms in the hall. Leo froze, seeing Nico at the end of the hall. The door was between them. He looked at Nico, then back at the light, and backed up, going back into the bathroom. Why did every bad thing seem to happen when Leo was in a bathroom?

Nico was scanning for more things when he saw a light come on, freezing him, fuck fuck fuck, they just needed to stop separating, what the fuck could he do? He tried to inch along the shadows but the light was pretty bright. He melted into them, hoping to land in the bathroom.

Leo was barely breathing. He crept into the bathtub, drawing the curtain as quietly as he could. Someone entered the bathroom, flicking on the light. He could hear the sound of the sink running, and held his breath. He didn't know why, but he had the sudden urge to light something on fire. Maybe the shower curtain. He didn't have impulse control. He wanted to do it. Someone was washing their hands, washing their face. Leo peeked out. It was a man.

Nico opened his eyes and saw Leo, he quickly reached out and covered his mouth, holding him close so there was no movement or sound. He heard water running but didn't know who was out there, not like he could ask Leo. He pressed into the far corner, with Leo held as close as possible to his front.

Leo was about to do it. He was so close. Suddenly there was a hand over his mouth, and he was fucking pressed as close as he could to Nico, obviously. He must have shadow traveled here. Huh. This was nice. He pressed against him, leaning his head back onto Nico's shoulder. The man kept washing his face, and grabbed a towel, dying his hands. He was taking a while to leave, and honestly? Leo was okay with that.

Nico didn't mind having Leo pressed to him, he didn't fight, he almost seemed to relax into it. Nico waited and waited, he was convinced he was going to spend the next few hours stuck there, but would that really be so bad? Leo was warm and nice to hold, he let the confusing feelings take over, after all, after analyzing them, he was starting to suspect what they were, as much as it terrified him.

Finally, finally, the man flipped the lights off, exiting the bathroom and closing the door. Leo breathed a tiny sigh of relief, against Nico's hand. He relaxed fully, putting most of his weight on him. "That was fun," He breathed, barely audible if Nico wasn't right fucking next to him. "We should do that more often~"

Nico removed his hand from Leo's mouth as the man left, but didn't push him away, how could he when Leo was leaning against him so much? "That was crazy and terrifying, I think we should too." He was basically whispering in Leo's ear. "Should we escape while we can?" His heart was racing as adrenaline pumped through him.

Wow, how could someone whispering in his ear about escaping a house be so fucking hot? Leo looked up, nodding softly. "Yeah, I'd say so." He didn't move. "You wanna travel or run for it?"

Nico's breath caught in his throat, Leo was so close, all his emotions washed over him at once, but now wasn't the time. "I think we should run for it." He said with a manic grin, pulling away from Leo. "Let's go!" He sprinted from the shower, making a mad dash through the house while laughing.

"Oh, shit, alright!" Leo jumped from the shower as well, laughing like hell. He made sure his steps were loud as they could be, fucking clomping down the hall and towards the door. He paused near the kitchen, turning on all the lights, knocking pictures off the wall, and flipping all four of the burners to the highest setting. His heart was racing and he turned to the door, sprinting through it and slamming the door. "What the fuck do we do now?!" He shouted, even though Nico was pretty close to him. He was totally exhilarated.

Nico looked around. "This way!" He called, running down the street away from the house, lights were already coming on as they ran. His heart was racing, adrenaline pumping, and most of all, he felt happy and overjoyed that he was doing this with Leo. He ran six blocks before having to stop to catch his breath. "Holy shit, we seriously just did that..." He gasped out in between fits of laughter, face red and smile wide.

Leo followed him, having too much to even feel how tired he was from running. His face lit up, breathing hard as he finally stopped, holding onto Nico's arm to keep himself from falling over. "Yeah we did!" He whooped, "Holy FUCK, that was the best. You're the best." They were in a completely unfamiliar part of the neighborhood, but Leo didn't care. He heard sirens in the distance, drawing closer. "I don't think making out is going to get the cops to leave this time," He said, grinning wide.

Nico watched Leo practically buzz, he was a sight to behold. He looked up towards the sirens. "No, I don't think so." Still his head buzzed, he's so beautiful, and right here... He stepped closer to Leo, the adrenaline and positive chemicals racing through him making him impulsive. If Leo hated him after this, at least he’d have this memory to think back on. He grabbed the collar of Leo's shirt and pulled him into a hard kiss.

Leo didn't notice Nico getting closer. That was, until Nico grabbed his collar. That made him look up, and by then, Nico’s lips were moving against his, and he gasped, heart beginning to hammer for a slightly _different_ reason than the fact that they’d just sprinted out of a house. He pulled Nico closer, closer than how they’d been in the bathroom. "I said it wouldn't get the cops to leave us alone," He said, pulling away to breathe. "But fuck, it's worth a shot, right?" Leo kissed him roughly again, bringing his hand up to hold his cheek.

Nico laughed as they broke apart. "Definitely worth a shot." He kissed Leo like he needed it to live, like it was all he needed. His hands were in Leo's hair, tugging as they pressed together, it was rough, it was hot, but mainly he was just happy that Leo wasn't pushing him away.

Leo could barely breathe, after running for several blocks, and then getting all his air stolen by kisses, he was weak in the knees. He fell into Nico, face flushed, hands trailing up and down his chest. "Seriously, I think the cops are going to come." He kept kissing him, barely able to notice the sirens getting louder. "I swear to all the gods, I'll kill you if you don't pull my hair again."

Nico was breathing heavily, trying to support Leo when he felt weak himself. "Mmmm yeah I think so too." He hummed into the kiss, pulling at Leo's hair to get a better angle and kiss his jaw, he was wrapped up and didn't notice the sirens, all he could focus on was Leo.

The pull drew a small gasp from Leo, and he lifted his head, closing his eyes. He was still grinning, thinking about where they were, what they'd been doing. "Fuck..." He opened his eyes, finally noticing how close the sirens seemed. "Fuck, Nico, kiss me later, we need to go-"

Nico shook his head, tryin to clear it. "Right, leave..." He just wanted to kiss Leo again but they needed to get out. He tightened his grip on Leo and travelled them back to the woods at camp, the police would be on too high alert to be able to do anything else. As soon as they landed Nico crashed his lips against Leo's biting and pressing against him tightly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter is nsfw only my homies, skip if you don't want to read it! you won't miss any important plot points


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is just nsfw

Damn. The freezing cold of shadow-travel barely did anything to him, this time. He was too heated. He barely noticed the change of scenery, too immersed in kissing him over and over again. He knew how late it was, and they were both wearing black, so if anyone did see them, they would probably be written off as a normal couple hooking up. “I want you-" He groaned, diving in for deeper and deeper kisses. He was backed against a tree, which he was thankful for, considering he could barely stand.

Those words sent a shiver through Nico. "I want you too..." He murmured against his lips, grip tight on his waist as he began to kiss down his neck. Maybe it was the touch starvation, but Nico was eager and wanted all of Leo.

' _ I want you too... _ ' When had he ever heard those words? Never. No one had ever said that. Ever felt that. He felt heat pool in his stomach, and his hand was tight on Nico's shoulder. He inhaled sharply as Nico kissed down his neck, even through the cool night air, Leo felt hot all over. "Fuck," He moaned, letting his head fall back against the tree, freeing up his neck. "You want me..." His hands were heating up, but he was too far gone in lust to notice.

Nico nipped at the skin. "Of course I do." Why wouldn't he? He was more confused that Leo wanted him back. He could feel Leo heating up, his hands starting to become almost uncomfortably hot on his shoulders. "Leo,  _ bello _ , your hands are about to catch fire." He warned him, pulling back with a smile.

" _ Fuck! _ " Leo brought his hands up, trying to get himself to calm down. "Sorry, sorry sorry-" He swallowed, licking his lips, just staring at Nico. "You got me all riled up~" He was breathing hard, feeling his hands cool down. "Tell me you want me. I want you. Tell me you feel the same."

Nico loved hearing Leo admit it, that he worked him up. He took Leo's face in his hands, breathing hard from shock and all good things. "I want you Leo Valdez,  _ il mio bello inventore _ ." He said quietly. "You actually like me back? You want me?" He couldn't believe it.

" _ Fuck, _ " He practically whined, drawing him in for a kiss, pulling back. " _ Yes _ , I want you. I want you so fucking bad, Nico, you don't even know." He'd managed to calm down enough for his hands to be safe, and he wrapped his arms around his neck, lips ghosting against Nico's. "If I had slept at all during the last four days I'm sure I would've dreamed about this," He whispered with a smirk.

Nico blushed, even at a normal temperature Leo's hands burned against him in a beautiful way. "I've thought about this once or twice myself." He said lowly, kissing Leo over and over, almost not believing that this was real and waiting to wake up. "I've never wanted anyone like this, it's been so confusing." He pressed Leo against the tree harder, laying light kisses all over his jaw and neck.

"Mmm, you've thought about this?" He asked, teasingly, "Little old  _ me _ ? I'm-  _ oh~ _ " How he  _ loved _ the feeling of getting pushed against something. "I'm flattered, truly."

"How could I not after you kissed me that night?" Nico asked, nipping at the skin playfully before pulling away. " _ Mi stai facendo cose, fuoco della mia vita. _ " He purred out, kissing him gently. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off he felt less of a need to be rough.

Leo let his eyes close, shivering as the Nico's Italian slipped into his ears. " _ Hace calor cuando hablas en italiano. Yo también puedo hacer eso, ya sabes. Eres tan jodidamente hermosa. Quiero besarte hasta que ninguno de nosotros pueda respirar. _ " He knew Nico was bound to understand  _ some _ of that, but that was the point, wasn't it? He kissed Nico again immediately after he'd said that, hands drifting down to his waist. " _ Quiero escucharte gemir por mí. _ "

Nico was weak when Leo spoke Spanish, it did thinks to him, good things. He could pick out phrases here and there but that last one was loud and clear. "You're killing me  _ tesoro _ ." He breathed out, Leo's hands felt so good wherever they touched. His hands came to rest in Leo's hair, running through it and massaging his scalp.

"I am not," He said, rolling his eyes, but he was grinning. "Hmm, I'm your treasure, then?  _ Y tu eres mi ladrón _ . Did you steal me, then?" The kisses had gotten less frantic, more slow. Leo was taking his time with this. After all, they had all night.

Nico laughed, running his fingers through Leo's soft curls. "Hm, I think you stole my heart, so I got revenge." He was not holding back with pressing lingering kisses to any bare patch of skin he could find. " _ Ti adoro, cuore mio. _ " He murmured. "As much as I love this, do you want to go somewhere where there's not just trees? More comfortable?"

Leo was loving the kisses, unable to manage anything more than just standing there and accepting them. "Sure,  _ corazón. _ As much as I love being pinned up against a tree, we can go anywhere you wanna." His cheeks were flushed a deep red. "If you want privacy, we could... go to bunker nine?"

Nico thought for a split second to drag Leo back to his cabin, but that would be moving a bit fast even for them. "Of course, last time tonight I promise." He melted them into the shadows of the tree, having them come out in Leo's room in Bunker Nine. "Much better." He didn't feel like nymphs were watching him.

Not that Leo would have minded going back to Nico's cabin, but Bunker Nine was more secluded, and secure. Whatever they ended up doing, no one would hear them. " _ Very _ much better," Leo purred, going immediately to kiss him again. He leaned up, whispering in Nico's ear. "I still want to hear you moan for me."

Nico couldn't handle that, couldn't handle what Leo was going to him, those words made him weak in the knees. "Give me a reason to." He challenged, trying to act like he wasn't melting in Leo's arms already.

Oh, so Nico was doing that, huh. He kissed him, deep enough to disorient them  _ both _ , then pulled away. "Get on the fucking bed." He ordered, already drifting kisses from his lips to his jaw. "I'll give you multiple."

Nico hummed into the kiss, feeling breathless and dizzy, then Leo said  _ that _ , he almost fainted from how much he like hearing Leo order him around. He backed them up until he fell onto the bed. "Do your worst then,  _ tesoro _ ."

Immediately, Leo's legs were wrapped around Nico's waist, one hand in his hair, the other on his back. He pulled Nico's hair slightly, enough to get his head to fall back, and kissed at his neck, sucking lightly, but not enough to leave any marks, yet.

Nico gasped, clinging to Leo, the hair pull almost got a moan out of him but it shifted into a whine. Leo's lips on his neck were doing things to him. "Mmm  _ bello, più, più _ ." He begged quietly.

Leo didn't know exactly what he was saying, but he had an idea. "You want more?" He teased, murmuring against his neck. "You know what to do,  _ maravilloso _ ." Even with the instruction, he pressed more insistent kisses to Nico's neck, finally finding a spot above his collarbone and beginning to suck.

Nico couldn't hold back, a quiet moan falling from his lips. His hands gripped Leo's shirt as he bit his lip, this felt so good. "I thought I was your first kiss?" He teased breathlessly.

Leo fucking  _ revelled _ in the sound of that moan, drinking it in. He finished his hickey, pulling away just slightly to look him in the eyes. "You were," He said, with a smirk. "Doesn't mean I don't know  _ exactly _ what I can do to you." He moved back, giving Nico a tiny space between them. "Take off your shirt,  _ maravilloso. _ " He ordered. " _ Quiero verte. _ "

Nico shivered at the order, did Leo even know what he was doing to him? He pulled off his shirt quickly, wanting to feel Leo against him. This was so different, with Percy, he wanted to love him and almost worship him, but his attraction to Leo was much like the boy himself, fiery, intense, wonderful, it warmed him and made him feel good and secure for once in his life.

Leo stripped off his shirt too, refusing to think about how unimpressed Nico must be. It was fine, though. They were both skinny, but that didn't matter. Leo loved every bit of him. He looked him over lazily, smirking. " _ Eres perfecto, _ " He whispered, into his ear. " _ Mi precioso ladrón. _ " Leo nibbled at his earlobe, pressing kisses and bites down Nico's jaw.

Nico fought the urge to cover himself, he wasn't too self conscious but compared to Leo's tan body and muscles that were more apparent than his, he felt too skinny and bony, too pale. However Leo's words soothed him, washing those worries away. " _ Anche tu sei perfetto, _ " He moaned out, hands running along Leo's body.

Leo's hand was on Nico's chest, pushing him down until Nico was lying on the bed, and Leo was straddling him. What could he say? He'd seen a lot of porn. He leaned over him, his hands on each side of his head. "Do you want me?" He asked sweetly, brushing his lips against Nico's adam's apple.

Nico felt like he couldn't breathe, not in a bad way, simply just that Leo was taking all of his oxygen by being so dominant and hot. He looked up at Leo, eyes closing as he felt his lips on his throat. "Yeah” He managed, I want you." It felt weird, admitting it out loud with Leo on him like this.

Leo had to stop kissing him for a moment, he was grinning too wide. Half of the reason he'd asked was because he wanted to remind himself, but the other half had been because hearing Nico admit it aloud when they were like  _ this _ made him crazy. "I bet you do," He assured him, "You're doing so well, letting me do all this to you." He was getting himself rather worked up, and after he'd regained control of himself, he began to suck another hickey on his throat. Nico would probably have to wear a turtleneck the next day, but that was a problem for later. As he worked, his hand drifted down to Nico's pants. He just couldn't help himself, beginning to palm him gently through his pants.

Nico whined, his body arching up at those words, normally he didn't like being vulnerable but he trusted Leo and the way he took the control from him was too good to fight. He didn't care about the hickeys, he'd wear them proudly tomorrow, a sign that even if the entire camp hated him, Leo wanted him. A moan ripped from his throat as Leo palmed him. "Leo..." He groaned out, his accent coloring his words.

"I told you I'd make you moan, didn't I?" Leo murmured, a small grin on his face, "Gods, you sound so pretty." Leo was definitely getting off to this. He'd moved to the side of him, tangling their legs together so they were still close, face still buried in his neck. He was still palming him, but after a short moment, he couldn't help himself, moving to the button on Nico's jeans and unfastening it. "Let me jerk you off," He murmured in his ear, sounding a little desperate himself. He barely waited for Nico's answer, his hand already disappearing into his jeans.

Nico rolled his hips up into Leo's touch. "You are driving me crazy,  _ tesoro _ " He moaned out, he needed more. Luckily it didn't take long for Leo to have his hand in his pants. "Please Leo, touch me..." He begged, moving to pull and tug at Leo's hair as he dragged him into a sloppy kiss, he was too worked up to have a technique.

Oh, how Leo loved to hear it. He let out a breathy moan himself, as Nico tugged at his hair, kissing him deeply, drinking in the noises he made. He managed to lower Nico's jeans enough to free his dick, beginning to stroke him, quickly. He hadn't ever done it to someone else, but he jacked off a lot himself, so he knew what he was doing. It was a weird angle, and he knew his wrist would tire easily, but Leo didn't give a single fuck. He sped up, breathing slightly unevenly, going to kiss his neck again. He wanted to hear him moan again.

Leo's moans were like music to him, beautiful notes that were burned into his brain. He hissed as his dick hit the cool air of the bunker. He'd jerked off a couple times, wasn't his thing but gods, Leo touching him was very much his thing. "Fuck, Leo~" He moaned out, tightening the grip in his hair, his body alreacy shaking from pleasure.

Thank the gods he had himself under enough control to refrain from bursting into flames, but as Nico said his name like  _ that _ , and pulled his hair, he very nearly lost it, moaning loudly himself. " _ Nico, mierda- _ " Leo tried to speed up, but his wrist was already sore, so he switched his angle, which caused his thumb to brush over the head everytime his hand came back up. He ground his hips into Nico's leg, releasing some of his own tension with another soft moan.

Nico cried out as Leo shifted, jolts of pleasure going up his spine. "Leo..." He could barely do more than moan Leo's name over and over, he was so close, he could feel it. "Please..."

Leo let his eyes fall shut, keeping up his pace, moaning along with him. "You can cum," He moaned, pressing sloppy kisses to his neck, his other hand reaching up to tug at Nico's hair, letting out a hiss of words. "You have my  _ permission _ ."

Holy Hera, that was something Nico didn't know he needed to hear until just then. "Thank you." He moaned out, losing himself to Leo's touch, body shaking and whimpering, he'd never felt so good.

Leo moaned with him, the burning heat of lust flooding his senses as Nico came. He started slowing down his strokes, and eventually stopped, pressing a heated kiss to Nico's neck. He could feel himself on the edge himself and decided to take care of it, unbuckling his belt and closing his eyes, recalling how hot it had been to hear Nico moaning his name. He came in record time, spilling into his pants and letting out a strangled groan. He wiped his hand on his blanket; he'd have to change them anyway, and turned Nico's head, kissing him deep. "My name in your mouth is by  _ far _ the hottest thing I've ever heard." Leo said smugly, cuddling him close.

Gods the sounds Leo made as he got off. He kissed back with fire. but also he was tired so it was slow. "Really? Because you're getting all dominant on me is the hottest thing I've ever heard." Nico mumbled, cuddling into Leo. He was tired, but it was a good tired. "We're kind of messy."

Leo flushed, "Thank you, it was, uh, the first time I've ever done anything like that, I just said all the shit they say in the pornos." He looked them over, nodding. "I've got clothes in that dresser over there, take off your pants." He stripped his own, tossing them into a hamper and fetching two sets of grey sweatpants. "You'll have to wear something that isn't black," He snickered, coming back to the bed and handing his pair. "Shirts are overrated, by the way, so we don't get any." Leo tossed the dirty blanket near the hamper as well, fetching a practically identical one from under the bed and throwing it over them. Immediately, he cuddled into him. "You were so fucking good." He swore, kissing him softly.

Nico was bright red. "Same here, that was new." He gladly took the sweatpants, swapping into them quickly. He figured Leo would be a cuddler after them sharing a bed, but something about him being awake and still doing it made him almost cry in happiness. He wrapped his arms around Leo, holding him close. "You were too  _ mio tesoro. _ " He leaned into the kiss, breaking it by smiling. "If this is a dream, I'm going to give up on everything." He murmured, just to make sure the universe knew not to play with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the abrupt ending, just keep reading and it'll continue


	9. Chapter 9

Leo felt like he was on top of the world. How had he gone from alone and sad to _this?_ "I promise, this isn't a dream." Leo assured him, grinning like a mad man. "I usually wake up from wet dreams before I get the chance to come." He laughed, throatily. The lights were still on, but Leo tapped the side of his bed in morse code for a moment, and they flicked off. He lit up his finger, lighting the candle beside them. "You want me," He said smugly, as if he were proud of it. "I'm so fucking happy you actually want me..."

Nico watched as Leo worked his magic, transforming the room into a comfortable atmosphere. "What isn't there to want Leo? I still can't believe you want me." That was them, who cared about words like love? Love meant nothing, but want? The power of having someone want you around? In bed with them? Kissing them? It may be love to others, but it meant more than that word that had hurt him over and over, Leo and him were above that.

Leo made a noise that sounded in between a laugh and a gasp. 'What isn't there to want?' He could barely believe his ears. "I've wanted you since that kiss," He admitted, softly. "I wasn't ever going to act on it. Nobody's ever wanted me, before. I figured you'd be the same." He sighed, but you could hear the smile in his voice. "I'm so glad you aren't." He hesitated once more, before, "We're similar, you know. We're not heroes. We aren't _good people_. How is it that I'm the happiest I've ever been the moment I give up trying to be a good person?"

Nico buried his face in Leo's hair. "I wish we had gotten close during the quest." He admitted. "Maybe it's because you're not faking it anymore, you're not going through the motions to please others." He murmured. "I'm happy that I don't have to pretend to hate my nature, I only hated everything I was because it isolated me, but... I'm not alone anymore. We don't have to be good people, we just have to be bad together."

"Me too, but we shouldn't dwell on the past," Leo sighed, closing his eyes and pressing a kiss to his cheek. Then, after a pause, "I'm honored to be bad with you, Nico di Angelo."

Nico kissed Leo's head. "I'm honored you let me join your reign of chaos." He felt so happy and content, he knew that he would be sleeping at the bunker that night, he wasn't leaving for anything.

"Oh please, as if I could stop you." He laughed, pressing closer to him. "My reign of chaos. Seems a strange way to describe it, like I'm a king or something." He paused, letting that sink in, before he laughed, softly, the concrete walls seeming to swallow it. "You're the ghost king, I can be the chaos king. The perfect pair."

"Two kings for a kingdom of destruction." He mumbled, starting to get tired, who could blame him? He'd done a lot. "It's okay if I stay here tonight right? I don't wanna leave you." Not when he'd finally gotten him.

 _Two kings for a kingdom of destruction._ Something vicious in his heart liked that name a little too much, and he wet his lips, thinking of all the destruction they could create. Would it really be so bad? There was a reason Zeus hadn't wanted Prometheus to gift the humans with fire. He'd known it would destroy them. And now the gift of fire had been passed to Leo. What had the gods expected? The flame of hope was too easily extinguished. But the inferno of malice was unquenchable. "Of course you can stay here," He answered him, voice soft in the velvet darkness. "I'll be yours for as long as you want me." _And longer_.

Nico looked down at Leo, a soft smile on his face. "I hope you're ready for eternity then _mio caro_ " He said quietly, kissing him gently. He loved this, the chaos and destruction, yet having a place to land and be them and revel in it, it was the perfect balance that had been missing from his life.

His heart felt weird, and he finally realized he was feeling complete adoration. "I am." He sighed, finally closing his eyes. "Good night, _mi amor_." He hummed, feeling inexplicably tired, all the sudden. "You're wanted."

"Good night, you're wanted too." Nico curled up close to Leo, giving into the sleep that had been pulling at him, comfortable and pleasant.

Leo was already drifting off, smiling softly. 

* * *

He woke up the next morning, the annoying alarm going off. Letting out a soft groan, Leo turned it off, and flopped back over, right... onto a body. It didn't take long to realize that the body was Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, along with exactly what had happened the night before. "Mmm, good morning, sunshine~"

Nico woke up when a body fell on his, he opened his eyes to see a mass of curly hair in his face, what the? Then he remembered last night, his confused expression morphing into a smile. "Good morning, _tesoro._ " He kissed Leo gently. "Why sunshine? I'm so far from that."

Leo scoffed, "Haven't you ever heard of irony before?" He shook his head, rolling his eyes. "You _light_ up my world, though~"

Nico rolled his eyes, burying his face in Leo's hair. "I don't want to go out there, can't we just hide in here?" He mumbled, he just wanted to stay with Leo and not deal with the other's crap.

Leo laughed, a breathy huff against Nico's neck. "We have to, _ladron, lo siento._ I'm hungry for breakfast, _and_ it's been a hell of a long while since I've seen my siblings. As much as they're annoying, they're still my siblings." He kissed his neck, casually. "Once we eat breakfast, I promise we can come back here and hide all you like."

Nico smiled, the casual intimacy was nice, it made this feel more real. "Fine, I'll shadow travel to my cabin so it's less suspicious." He sat up begrudgingly, stretching and trying to tame his wavy mess of hair. "It's harder than normal to leave bed today." He grumbled.

"It's because I'm here~" Leo whispered, nipping his ear playfully. "I usually make everything a lot harder than it has to be, I consider it one of my specialties." He giggled, rolling out of bed and going to the dresser, stripping unashamedly and beginning to pull on pants and a shirt. "I've got a bathroom connected to that door, if you wanna freshen up, or something. I prefer that shower to the communal ones."

Nico watched as Leo got around, not even bothering to hide the fact he was watching Leo change, gods he was hot. "Thanks, I'll take a shower if that's okay?" He got out of bed and stretched, kinda showing off his muscles to Leo.

"Yeah, that's fine! As long as-" He'd looked over, just in time to see the stretch, and immediately lost all train of thought. "Uhhhh.... s'long as I can join you, good gods." He finished, murmuring the last two words under his breath. Nico made him feel things. So many things. He liked them all.

Nico blushed, looking away when he caught Leo staring. "Of course you can join. I'd hurry up though." He made his way to the bathroom, stripping as he went teasingly. It was mostly a joke but he wouldn't say no if Leo agreed.

Leo may have been slowly declining into insanity, but his head was still screwed on right. He stared appreciatively, but shook his head with a little whine. "Sorry, my thief. I'll take a raincheck on that, definitely. You go shower, I'll see you at the pavilion."

Nico laughed. "See you at the pavilion." He went into the bathroom and saw what was an actual private shower, he wanted to cry, he hated the communal showers so much. Naturally he took a bit of a longer one but he knew he had to get moving. He left the shower and redressed before shadow traveling to his cabin, it would be so suspicious if he came from the woods like Leo. He glanced in a mirror one last time, looking at all the uncoverable hickeys, hopefully no one would dare approach and ask him about them.

Leo was already sitting at the Hephaestus cabin, occasionally speaking to his siblings. He silenced however, when he saw Nico, just staring at him. No one really noticed his entrance, but Leo did. The hickeys were extremely visible against his pale skin. He saw him sit down, alone at the Hades cabin. He didn't like how lonely he looked. Impulse control was never really something he had, but he'd ended up surprising _himself_ when he got up, taking his bowl of cheerios and made his way to the Hades cabin, plopping down beside him. " _Hola_ , di Angelo. Mind if I sit?"

Nico was settling in for another quiet meal when Leo interrupted. "Are you crazy? Everyone's gonna stare." He glanced around. "Too late, sure Valdez." He blushed at all the attention, but he loved that Leo actually wanted to sit with him in public. "This was a risky move."

Leo shrugged, beginning to eat his cereal. "I don't care if you don't. There's really only one person who's opinion I've started caring about." He paused a moment, swallowing, before: "Hickeys look nice."

Nico shrugged, Leo was right, he shouldn't care. He choked on his juice when Leo pointed out the hickeys. "You would think that _bello_ , since it's your handiwork." He mumbled, face red. He looked at the smaller amount on Leo, more easily concealed by his tan skin. "I hate you, I can barely see yours."

"Well there's an easy solution for that," Leo pointed out, grinning, "You'll just have to leave them darker next time." He continued eating his breakfast, fighting a smile. 

"Mr. Valdez, may I speak to you?" Chiron had approached them, looking a little put out.

Nico blushed and pushed at Leo playfully. However the fun was ruined by Chiron, of course, he was probably going to tell Leo he couldn't sit with Nico. That just made him so mad, he finally had a friend, but because of camp rules he was never allowed to sit with anyone.

Leo turned, his heart sinking. "Of course, Chiron." He got up, following behind him. "Be right back, Neeks." Chiron led him towards the head table, offering him a seat. Leo took it, while Chiron sat back down into his wheelchair. 

Ten minutes later, Leo returned, tear stains on his cheeks. He swallowed, sitting down next to Nico and wiping them away, before returning to eat.

Nico looked at Leo concerned, anger rising in him, he was going to kill Chiron for whatever he did to make Leo cry. "What happened?" He asked, quietly, touching Leo's arm.

"Nothing," Leo said, turning away from Chiron's table. As soon as he did, though, he couldn't hide the smile bursting. "He told me I wasn't allowed to sit at your table. So I told him we were both pretty fucked up about the upcoming anniversary of the war with Gaea. That we were growing closer with each other, through trauma." He snorted, looking towards Chiron for a moment and trying to pass it off like it was a sob. "He ate it up. I'm staying here."

Nico had to fight the laugh that threatened to burst out. "Leo you're such a fucking liar." He whispered, trying to make it look like he was comforting him and not congratulating him. "You're an evil genius, _tesoro_ , I'm honored to be yours." He turned back to his food, trying to keep a neutral look.

Leo rolled his eyes, wiping his eyes once more and leaning into him, slightly. "I've always considered lying another one of my special talents." He turned to see Chiron looking over at them, and looked back, eyes dry. He went back to his food.

Nico shook his head. "You're a man of many, I admire that in a partner." He winked at Leo to emphasize the double meaning. He looked around, for the most part everyone had gone back to their own business, but the Aphrodite table kept looking over and whispering amongst themselves. "Gods, this is entertainment for them."

The double meaning nearly went over Leo's head, but he got it after a second, and tried to stop a peal of laughter from escaping. "I'm sure it is, honestly. Camp romance has been dry recently, so I'm certain we'll be hot news." He looked over at them, expression neutral. "Maybe I should kiss you, just to give them a show." Could he do that? Maybe Chiron would get mad.

Nico glared at the Aphrodite kids, causing a few of them to quickly look away. He took Leo's hand. "Maybe you should, confirm their suspicions." He smiled at Leo. "Make your cabin go crazy mad." He dared him.

Leo took a cautious look around. Not _everyone_ was looking. Mostly just the Aphrodite cabin. Nyssa was looking over at them every once in a while, her face a mixture of concern and confusion. "If you insist, then, _mi ladrón_." He leaned up, pressing a short but sweet kiss to his lips. Someone at the Aphrodite table gasped, and was promptly shushed.

Nico smiled at the gasps, tangling his hands in Leo's hair, kissing deeper. If he was going to reveal it to these assholes, he was gonna make it a show, wow Leo was rubbing off on him.

Ooh, shit, Leo wasn't intending on this, but by the gods, he wasn't complaining. If it wasn't clear by Leo sitting with him where the hickeys had come from, it sure was now. He contemplated moaning loudly, but wisely decided against it. He leaned into him, wrapping an arm around Nico's neck to pull him closer. Finally, _finally_ , he pulled away, and gave Nico a lopsided grin. "You're _gorgeous_ , _mi ángel_."

Nico smiled at Leo. "You're one to talk _bello_ , beautiful through and through." He murmured. He looked around, seeing astonished faces, angry faces, shock, every emotion, so he simply went back to eating like nothing had happened.

Leo just scoffed, rolling his eyes. He too looked around, seeing the faces of the campers. Nyssa looked shocked and angry at the same time, but he didn't care. There was one pair of eyes that sent a chill down his back, and he looked around, trying to find the source. Eventually, he locked eyes with Mr. D, who held his gaze for a long moment, before turning away, back to his food.


	10. Chapter 10

It had been a few days, the buzz around Leo and Nico at camp was starting to die down, and even though the graffiti was still there, everyone was becoming less on edge. Leo and Nico were still sneaking out and committing crimes, still hooking up in Bunker Nine, and at least Nico was falling more in love with Leo every day. That night they were heading to a new neighborhood, a house that seemed pretty stocked and since it was new, there would be less cops around. He appeared at their rendezvous point by the edge of the forest, stepping out of the shadows. " _Buona notte, fiamma del mio cuore_ " He greeted him.

Leo didn't even bother sneaking around camp, not anymore. Anyone who was him usually left him alone, and he was _more_ than fine with it. The one time he'd been caught sneaking out by Nyssa, he'd just told her he was heading to Nico's cabin, and she let him go. He felt on top of the world. Maybe the campers weren't exactly afraid of _him_ , but they were afraid of Nico. And since the two were together, they were starting to fear him, too. Leo wasn't surprised as Nico stepped out, giving him a sensual smile and walking right up to kiss him. " _Buonasera, Nico._ " He still wasn't very good at Italian, but hey, that was _one_ of the few phrases he'd picked up. Even his accent was getting better. "Ready for tonight? I'm excited.”

Nico smiled into the kiss, taking Leo's hand. "I'm ready, we won't have to hide as much, less police." He grinned wider, pulling Leo close. "Hold on hot stuff" He traveled them to the neighborhood, he really hoped with all the traveling Leo was starting to get used to it.

Leo was already used to shadow travel—he'd begun to associate the coldness with the exhilaration of robbing houses, which got his excited. They'd gotten in and out easily in the past four days, and Leo couldn't wait for where they were tonight. He didn't feel dizzy anymore, as Nico transported them, but he still held onto Nico tightly, kissing his cheek as they landed. "You're so beautiful-" Leo always made a point to say how much he loved Nico, or express his affections. He'd never gotten the chance to with anyone else, and the gratification of seeing Nico smile was too good to pass up.

Nico blushed, kissing Leo gently. "I never get tired of hearing that, _tesoro_." He loved that Leo showered him in affection, he never really got a whole lot of it since Bianca died, so it was a nice change. "You're so smart and handsome." He hummed before pulling away sadly. "We should get going."

"We should," Leo agreed, looking towards the row of houses in the neighborhood. "We had plans for that one, right?" He pointed to a dark house, the closest one to them. "Let's get to work."

Nico grinned. "Yep, let's do this." He took Leo's hand, leading him to the house. "I don't see any cameras, do you see any lights or anything?" There was a car but no lights on, so home but asleep, he loved that, it added some danger.

Leo's calculating eyes fell over the house as they approached. "No cameras, or none that I can sense." He easily picked the lock on the door, letting Nico go in first with a little smile. "I say we fuck in their bathroom and be _extra_ loud so they wake up." He whispered, looking around for any valuables.

Nico blushed and bumped Leo with his shoulder. "How would we escape then genius? Unless you want to shadow travel somewhere naked." He went to a cabinet in the living room, they were travellers and had lots of expensive pieces on display. He wasted no time gathering them into his sack.

Oh. Leo hadn't thought about that. "Okay, okay. Fine. But I like it when we wake them up before we leave. Something about doing that gives me a rush." Leo noticed an expensive purse on the kitchen counter and emptied it out, taking cash, and dropping two sets of car keys into his toolbelt. "What else can you sense? I have a feeling they've got more than just _silverware_."

Nico held up the bag. "Various items of precious metal, no jewelry in the bathroom, finally a smart couple." He looked around. "A safe in the office again, how original, lets go." He took Leo's hand.

"Good, I'm glad there's nothing in the fucking bathroom," Leo rolled his eyes. "Bad shit always seems to happen to me in bathrooms." He perked up at the mention of a safe, and looked around, "Which room is the office?"

"I'm with you, too many close scrapes." He looked down the hallway. "Third door on the right come on." He led Leo down the hallways quietly, covering his hand with a cloth before opening the door.

Leo followed him, silent as death. The door creaked once, and Leo's breath stopped, but opened smoothly the rest of the way. He followed him inside, looking around. "How much are you willing to bet it's a wall safe behind that painting?" He murmured, fingers laced in Nico's. "Ten drachmas." He could sense the inner workings of the safe. He knew it was behind the painting.

Nico glanced over. "It's behind the painting genius." He said, kissing Leo's cheek. "Go take it out okay?" He began to dig through the desk, there were mainly files, nothing important. He shut the drawer and crossed to Leo. "Anything good?"

Leo was fast, removing the painting from the wall and looking at the safe. It was easy enough to crack, and he had it open in less than a minute. Inside was... a collection of papers. Birth certificate. Marriage document. Boat license. Last will and testimony. There was an emerald pendant, which he took, but otherwise, Leo rolled his eyes, turning back to Nico. "Nothing at _all_." He groaned. "Do you sense any—" 

"Hello?" Shit.

Nico's head whipped around to the door, fuck, the owner was awake. "Leo, close the safe, wipe your fingerprints." He whispered, ready to shadow travel them out of there the instant he was done, hopefully the man would check elsewhere first.

Leo's heart stopped, and he looked to Nico, eyes wide, pulling a rag from his toolbelt and beginning to frantically cleanse the safe of fingerprints. But it was too late. Several things happened in the next few moments. 

One, the door flew open. The lights illuminated the room, and Leo was temporarily blinded by how bright it was. Two, the man shouted, seeing the two. Leo's eyes cleared, and he saw a man, maybe late-thirties, wielding a black pistol. It was aimed at him, but quickly switched to Nico when the man saw that he was closer. 

Leo Valdez' lack of impulse control could be a blessing and a curse. Depending on who you asked, it was more a curse, than a blessing. But Leo didn't need impulse control for what happened next. There was a few moments of silence, while Leo's mind was racing. This man was aiming to hurt Nico. The love of his life. Nico's life was in danger. How dare this man think he had any right to threaten his life. He'd reached into his toolbelt for the weapon he knew was there, pulling it out by the hilt and throwing it across the room with an enraged shout. The Stygian iron dagger buried itself in the man's chest. The man went down, gun clattering the floor. Leo went down as well, stumbling against the wall and clutching his chest. The dagger had weakened him, in the short amount of time he'd held it, and Leo sunk to his knees. It took him about three seconds to realize exactly what had just happened. 

He'd just killed a man.

Nico squinted as he was blinded, his hands going up in surrender, it was the homeowner, with a gun. "Sir, please, don't shoot, call 911, don't shoot." He didn't know how to charmspeak, but he wished at that moment that he could. The gun turned to him causing his heart to stop, until he saw the man hit the ground, a familiar hilt sticking out of his chest, Leo... Leo had hit him with the dagger. He took in the dying man, Leo's slumped form, and knew what he had to do. Hejumped over the desk, grabbing the dagger from the man's chest before grabbing Leo's arm and shadow travelling them straight to Bunker Nine, there was no time for any extra stop. "Leo?" He asked, pulling face to look at him, he could tell he had been drained.

Leo's eyes never left the body of the man, even as Nico retrieved the dagger, before going to him. He felt the familiar frozen feeling of moving through darkness, and as they landed, he struggled to keep himself upright, lips still parted, eyes still wide. "He's... dead," He said bluntly. "I just killed someone, Nico."

Nico pulled Leo's face to his, he knew the shock of a first murder. "Leo, _tesoro_ , look at me." He murmured. "Don't think about it right now, we escaped, that's what matters."

Leo looked up at him, wide-eyed. "I didn't think I knew how to do that," He said, heart still beating out of his chest. "Have you ever done that?"

Based on Leo's reaction of when he did it, Nico was a little nervous to admit it. "Yes, not with a knife, but with my powers." He said. "During the giant war, one of Octavian's goonies, I stood there and I let the earth eat him and turned him into a ghost." He said, not looking at him. "And I stopped Will from saving Octavian."

Leo was quiet, nodding as Nico told him. "Does it normally feel... like that?" He asked, struggling to try and stand up. The dagger had taken his energy, but he could still try to stand. His thoughts were finally starting to make some sense. That man had aimed to hurt Nico. He would have shot him, Leo was certain of it. "I should regret it. I need to regret it..." So why didn't he?

"I don't regret what I did, it kept Reyna and Hedge safe, that's what mattered. But...it hit me hard for a bit, it gets easier with time." He assured Leo, taking him over to the chair and sitting him down. "I would have done the same if you were in danger."

"I'm sorry..." He whispered, harrowed. He knew he should feel some sort of remorse when taking a life. That's how normal people worked? But each time he thought of the man, pointing the handgun at Nico, he felt another surge of satisfaction. He kept replaying the image of him reaching into his toolbelt, pulling out the dagger, and throwing it. He wasn't usually good at throwing knives. But his aim had been impeccable. Maybe Nico thought Leo was apologizing for the murder of an innocent man. He wasn't. He was apologizing for not feeling bad about it.

Nico kissed Leo gently. "Sorry for what? Protecting me? Killing someone? Not regretting it?" He'd heard Leo, in his opinion there was no need to regret it, Nico would have done way worse than a knife to the chest.

Leo looked up, sharply. "I'm _not_ apologizing for protecting you. I'd do it a hundred times over if it meant saving you." He trailed off, not meeting his eyes. "I just don't want you to hate me for... how... how I feel right now." He had enjoyed it. The man had threatened them. No one threatened them. The man was going to hurt Nico. _No one_ hurt Nico. He'd enjoyed watching him fall. That's just what happened if you thought you could interfere with their love.

Nico kissed Leo harder. "I would _never_ , you were protecting me, and well, I've enjoyed killing too." He hugged Leo close. "We're just different, _tesoro_ , but never regret it, okay?"

Leo let out a small sigh, wrapping an arm around Nico's neck, kissing him lightly. "Thank you." He closed his eyes, relaxing again against him. "I love you. I want you." _I would die for you. I would kill for you. I have killed for you._

Nico froze, they always said I want you, but the L word hadn't popped up yet, it took him by surprise. "You love me?" He hugged Leo tighter. "I love you too, I want you _mio caro_ , you're perfect." He got caught up in his emotions.

"I killed for you, Nico." Leo said, sounding a small bit like his old self. "I love you _so_ much. I'd do it again, just for you."

Nico laughed. "That you did, _idiota_ ." He kissed Leo's nose. "I'd kill for you too, any day." He loved this, feeling safe and wanted, and well, having _true_ excitement in his life. Quests and missions felt like chores, but committing crimes? That was just a fun rush.

Leo had to agree, smiling softly against Nico's skin. "We got cash, this time." He said, looking to his toolbelt. "If you ever wanted to go anywhere, we've probably racked up six hundred bucks in just cash."

Nico smiled. "Like a date? Get away from camp for a bit?" He loved that idea, he would go anywhere with Leo. "I'd love to do that."

"Yeah, like a date." His mind was still replaying the man falling to the ground. He could still hear the gun clattering to the ground. "Can we go to bed?" He asked, murmuring. "I want to be with you. I don't want to go back to my own cabin."

Nico nodded. "Do you want to go back to my cabin? It would be darker and quieter." He knew how well Leo slept the last time he was there.

"Yes please," He said, kissing his cheek. "I just wanna be with you."

Nico pulled Leo close and shadow travelled them to his cabin. Immediately he pulled Leo into bed, spooning around him for comfort. "There, alone and quiet." He whispered.

Leo sighed softly, content as he felt Nico's arm around him. "Thank you," He murmured, pressing a small kiss to his lips. "You're my angel. I'm so glad we're together."

Nico smiled with the kiss, caressing Leo's soft curls. "I am too, you're my adventure, my passion." He said, there was no doubt, who else would feel no remorse about killing? It was obvious they were meant to be.

Leo chuckled, softly. kissing him over and over. "You're mine, too. Stole my heart right out of my chest." He could feel his eyes getting heavier, it had been a long day. "I can't wait to open my eyes and see you in front of me, tomorrow morning." His Nico was here because of him. He would do anything for him.

"I'll be right here." Nico promised, kissing Leo's forehead. "Sleep, _tesoro_ , tomorrow is a new day." He murmured.


	11. Chapter 11

The next morning, he woke up resting comfortably in Nico's arms. He remembered the events of the night before, but strangely, he wasn't as affected by it as he was the night before. He snuggled Nico a little tighter, grateful that he was alive to do so. Almost smugly. He was lucky to wake up with his beloved. The dead man's wife was not.

In truth, the man wasn't going to shoot Nico. He wouldn't have shot either of them. In truth, the gun was shaking in his hands. He'd given into his instincts, pointing the gun at Nico, when the real threat had been Leo. Leo didn't know that, though. And if he did, who's to say he wouldn't have done it anyway.

Regretfully, he left the Hades cabin, departing for his own. He was still wearing Nico's black shirt from the robbery, but no one who saw him batted an eye. It was normal to see Leo wearing black, now that the camp knew they were together. Walking back, Leo felt energized. Despite the unrest he'd had during the night, he felt more alive than he'd ever felt before. He felt superior over the campers he passed. He wasn't weak, not anymore. He'd killed a man. He didn't know anyone else who'd done that. No one else was strong enough. 

Even if they didn't know what Leo had done, Leo knew. He knew. He felt eyes on him, as he opened the door to his cabin, though ignored them. They were pathetic. Beneath him. He continued on to his bunk. 

The rest of the day was a blur, for Leo. It was uneventful, nothing compared to the rush of last night. He did, however, feel a rush of excitement when the Capture the flag was announced. He and Nico were on opposite teams, which did put a damper on things, but that didn't matter to him all that much. Leo felt the fire to fight spark in his heart, and he did his best to fan the flames.

Leo was on defense, guarding the flag. Hephaestus had been teamed with Ares and Athena, so Leo was the only one guarding. With the Ares kids on the front line, there was no way anyone would be making it past them without a fight. But surprisingly, rather quickly, the bushes rustled, and Leo stood to attention, his sword ready in his hand. A boy approached, jogging towards him. However, he stopped short as he recognized it was Leo Valdez. "Really?" The boy asked, dryly. "They let  _ you _ guard the flag?" Leo stopped, blinking. The boy, whom Leo was pretty sure was named Dominic, wasn't coming any closer. He was a son of Nike, well-known around camp. Popular with the ladies, but overall not very nice, though Leo didn't really give a shit. 

"What do you mean?" He asked testily, readying his sword. Dominic gave him a look, and Leo's heart skipped a beat. He felt like he was standing on the edge of a cliff, hands tingling. Leo knew that look too well. It was the classic, ‘you’ve gotta be kidding me’ look, Dominic was looking at him as if he'd just said something completely obvious, and as if Leo had asked for clarification. Dominic was looking at him as if he were stupid. 

"I thought I'd be getting a real opponent, coming for the flag." He looked towards the white flag, pointedly. "I bet I could just walk right up and take it." 

He could feel his blood simmer. Did this kid even know who he was? What he'd done? "A real opponent?" Leo repeated him, his voice low. "Who do you think you are?" 

"Who do _you_ think _you_ are?" Dominic countered, and Leo could smell burning. He tried to calm himself down. If Dominic knew Leo was getting riled, he'd never stop. The son of Nike kept going, which obliterated Leo's attempt to calm down. "I get why the Athena cabin wouldn't have you on offense, you can't fight. But the _sole_ guarder of the flag? Did they really think you'd be strong enough to fend people—" Dominic was interrupted by Leo's blade, clanging against his. Leo wasn't weak. He could fight. He could defend. 

_ He's right. _

The annoying voice in his head reminded him,  _ You are weak. Why do you think Percy left? Jason, Piper, Frank and Hazel, Annabeth? They left you. They left you here to rot. _

"You're wrong," Leo growled, putting in a vicious attack towards Dominic with his sword. "I'm  _ not _ weak." 

Dominic had the nerve to laugh, even as he blocked and parried. "You don't sound too sure about that, Valdez." Sword-fighting had never been Leo's strongpoint. Dominic had him pinned up against a tree quicker than anything. But Leo was  _ furious _ . This kid knew nothing about him. This kid, with his stupid shit-eating grin, acting as if he were  _ stronger _ than Leo, just because he had a sword to his throat. This insignificant heap of garbage had absolutely no idea who he was dealing with.

With a cry of rage, Leo burst into flames and reached up, taking the sword in his hands and throwing the blade away from his neck. The sides cut his hands, deep, but Leo didn't care. He barely even felt it, the heat from his hands cauterizing his wounds. "You  _ little fucking bitch _ ," He snarled, taking his own sword and driving it through Dominic's armor, sending him to the ground with a cry.  _ He doesn't know what he's saying. He doesn't know who he's dealing with. Nico and I are unstoppable. We're the most powerful demigods known to man. I'm not weak. Not anymore. _ Leo was still aflame, throwing himself over Dominic with a scream. He was going to kill him. Leo knew he could do it. He'd done it before. He'd done it last night. His fingers were itching to do it again. To wrap his hands around Dominic's throat. To watch the life leave his eyes. His mind replayed the night before, throwing the dagger, seeing the man fall. Hearing the man cry out. He wanted to hear Dominic cry, like that. He wanted to watch. His flaming hands found Dominic's throat, easily.

**\-----**

Nico woke to Leo in his bed, which already set him in a good mood, even as they parted for the day. He had a few private matters to attend to for the camp, meaning he was gone from the main campers for most of the day. 

But then came capture the flag, he was going against the Hephaestus cabin which was fair enough, he at least wouldn't be working in a group. Nico had been creeping along, they sent Dominic in to fight the guard while Nico snuck past and got the flag, he couldn't be beat for stealth. He watched as Dominic and Leo started fighting, anger bubbling in him as Dominic went for low blow insults instead of real fighting. The shadows thickened and he was prepared to jump in, but Leo took Dominic over easily. It was only the three of them, he saw Leo stab him, he should have done something but... just watched, as Leo gained the upper hand. 

He should feel conflicted, Nico was decent enough to realize that. Leo was actively killing someone, a kid, a camper. But what had this damned camp ever do for either of them? It that moment, Nico’s heart finally fully hardened, and he stepped back, letting the shadows dissipate around him. He embraced the sick pleasure he felt, watching,  _ feeling _ Dominic’s life drain away. Leo was gorgeous like this, the fire in his eyes, the literal fire on his hands. How strong he was, Dominic had it coming. He should’ve known better to ever assume that Leo was weak.

In the shadows, Nico watched.

_ He has it coming. He has it coming. It's his own damn fault, for pissing you off like this. _ Leo’s thoughts were racing, Dominic couldn't scream, not with Leo's hands on his throat. He tried to fight, squirming like mad under him, but Leo knew he wasn't going anywhere. 

"Please," He rasped out, the tears he was crying evaporating almost immediately. "Stop-" 

"Still think I'm  _ weak? _ " Leo shouted, barely hearing his pleas. "Tell me! Tell me I'm weak!" Dominic couldn't. Leo knew that. "I'm stronger than you could  _ ever know _ ," Leo hissed. The heat radiating off of him was enough to scar the ground. Under him, the dry leaves caught flame. He didn't notice. Dominic stopped struggling. "And to think," Leo spat, shaking almost violently. " You could've avoided all this." He stood, staring down at the body, unblinking. The leaves had caught fire. They'd spread to the trees. Around him, the forest burned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh oh heehee


	12. Chapter 12

Nico watched wide eyed as Dominic stopped moving, and as the forest caught on fire. His mind returned to him, somewhat. "Leo!" He yelled, running out from the bushes. "We... we need to get out of here, the dryads aren't going to be happy, and the other campers will be here-" Before he could finish he heard screams and crashes as people ran from the flames, some entering to look for campers, only seeing Nico and Leo with a dead body that had a charred throat, fuck.

Through the crackling flames, he heard a voice, and turned, seeing Nico. He'd just killed, again. Leo heard the warning, the dryads would be furious. Other campers would see him. But none of that mattered, did it? Leo was a killer. They would all fear him, now. He turned from Nico, looking back at the body of Dominic. The marks around his throat. Sure, other campers would see it. Sure, they could put it together. But what could they do to him? Nothing. Nothing that Leo couldn't handle. He heard the screams, barely registering what they meant. It wasn't until he saw Nyssa's panic stricken face appear from the burning trees, that everything seemed to catch up with him. Yes, he was a killer. His face had no emotion on it, just staring down at Dominic. He couldn't break that facade, not now. It would be suspicious if Leo was emotionless one minute and screaming crying the next. He needed to be in shock. He needed to _fake_ being in shock. It had worn off, by now, but he kept standing there, parting his lips, widening his eyes. He'd put out the flames on his body. He sunk to his knees. He was in shock, right? He needed a cover story. He looked behind him. Fuck, Nico. He couldn't drag Nico down with him, not like this. "Take care of me," He said, low enough that none of the frantic campers around them could hear. "You've just stumbled upon the scene, haven't you? Take. Care. Of me." The gears in Leo's brain were turning. This had obviously been some sort of accident, _right?_ He hadn't intended to kill Dominic. He thought he was a monster. He didn't know what he was thinking. He was so _scared._ So afraid. He was Leo Valdez, innocent son of Hephaestus, a hero. None of this had been on purpose. He fell to his knees, in shock, looking at his hands, then back to Dominic's throat. Had he really done such a thing? Only a monster could be capable...

Nico was in full panic mode, he whispered out a "What?" Until he understood, Nico was going to get blamed or get tangled up. "Leo! What happened?" He asked, kneeling next to him, trying to pull him away. "We have to get out of here." He turned to the others, eyes wide, man his acting skills were good. "I need help! We have to get them out." He tugged Leo up, they were all going to burn if they didn't move fast.

It was getting harder to breathe, even for Leo, which didn't mean good things for those around him. Leo let himself be pulled by Nico, still keeping his expression somewhat blank. Nyssa just stared for a moment, at the two, before jumping into action as Head Counselor. Turning to three demigods who'd appeared, she ordered, "Get the Poseidon kids, get Amphitrite, too. We need this blaze _out_ , and quickly!" She ran to where Leo and Nico were, eyes smarting as the smoke billowed. "Get Leo out of here, take him to the infirmary!! I'll get Dom." Without another word to them, she heaved Dominic's body over her shoulders in a fireman's carry, going as fast as she could to escape the blaze. Leo and Nico were left alone, and Leo's gaze hardened, watching her go. "He deserved it," He got out, voice hoarse from the billowing smoke burning his throat. "I swear on the River Styx, he _fucking_ deserved it."

Nico was coughing from the smoke, his lungs burning. "I believe you, we gotta get out." He stood them both up, using the shadow of smoke to get them back to camp. Immediately he fell, coughing and breathing heavily. "Leo, look more torn up and confused." He hissed. "Fall with me." They needed to sell this.

Leo obeyed him, falling with no thought of injury. He set his face confused, still coughing, he may have been fireproof but his lungs were not. Nyssa came out, carrying the body of Dominic, and all around, campers gasped, exploding into conversation. 

"Are those _burns_?" 

"Oh my gods, it's Dominic!" 

"I see smoke coming from the forest!! Is it on fire?" 

Chiron was there immediately, shouting for order. "What's happened, what's going on?" He saw Dominic as Nyssa set him down, and his face fell. "Oh, no. Gods help us. What happened?"

Nico leaned on Leo heavily, looking at the dead body, he didn't share in the horror of the rest of camp, Dominic was an asshole, he had it coming. Still, the look on everyone else's face, he knew this was going to be a shitstorm. He stood up shakily, pushing on Leo to tell him to stay. This wasn't going to end well.

For once, Leo's mind turned too slowly. What could he do? What could he say? The burn marks were in the shape of hands, for godsakes. It was obvious who had done this. He stayed low, keeping his confused act up. Could he pretend to have been possessed? But who would want to kill a son of Nike? Hardly an important goddess, her son even less so. The campers murmured. Looks were thrown Leo's way, but no one spoke, only looking at the body. 

Chiron shook his head. "Michael, get the body to the infirmary. I want _anyone_ who saw what happened to report to the Big House, _immediately_. Counselors, get your kids to their cabins, curfew starts now." 

Reluctantly, Leo stood on shaky legs. He closed his eyes, leaning heavily on Nico, though he could easily stand by himself. Nyssa was staring at him, an unreadable expression on her face. She stood, following behind Chiron. All eyes were on Leo, and they followed him and Nico as they trailed behind.

Nico supported Leo, helping him to the big house, they needed to keep up the traumatized act. He sat him at the ping pong table, holding his hand and sitting as close as possible while everyone got settled. It was a eerie sort of silence among them, no jokes, no smiled, just heaviness, and fear.

Chiron looked between them, expression serious. At the door, Mr. D stood, looking over the scene. Easing into his motorized wheelchair, Chiron looked between the three. "Which one of you is going to start?" When no one answered, he sighed. "Leo Valdez." 

Leo stiffened, looking up to Chiron with teary eyes. "Y-yes sir?"

"I need you to be honest with me, Leo. What happened?" 

Leo heaved a shaking sigh, holding tightly to Nico's hand. He closed his eyes, thankful he was good at crying on command. 

"I..." He paused, before letting it out, in a sob. "It was an accident!! Chiron, I didn't mean to kill him, honest, I barely knew what I was doing, I—I—I just got so _angry_." His voice sounded harrowed, like he hated what he was. It sounded almost too real. He paused for dramatic effect of course, head falling into Nico's neck, sniffling quietly. 

"Go on, Mr. Valdez." Chiron's voice was sympathetic, that was good. Very good. "It's alright." 

Leo nodded, hands shaking, though that was involuntary. "It was like he was... p—possessed, or something. He came right up to me, charged me while I wasn't paying attention. N—normally, that'd be okay, C—capture the Flag, and all." God, he was getting a headache from all his crocodile tears. "But he didn't stop. Even though I was on the ground, barely able to get out of the way, he wouldn't _stop_ , like he was trying to _kill me_ , or something." He closed his eyes, imagining the memory. Imagining what it would have been like. "I _promise_ , I didn't mean to. He kept calling me weak, telling me I was going to die here, and everyone would think it was an accident. A slip of his blade, he called it." Leo closed his eyes, _Jesus_ , it was getting harder to cry. "I w—would've died, if I hadn't stopped him..."

Nico pulled Leo close to him as he trailed off so no one could see his face. He rubbed his back gently. "I saw it sir, he's telling the truth, it was as if Dominic was possessed, he's was ruthless." He said, keeping a soft face, as if he were in shock still. "I only saw him threaten Leo and Leo defend himself, but it was enough, Leo was just trying to survive, the point of training isn't to kill." He looked around the table, daring any of the campers to challenge that thought.

No one else could dispute it. They'd all come after Dominic had died. None of them met his gaze, no one but Nyssa. She spoke up, voice grave. "His sword _was_ unsheathed, Chiron. I was first to the scene, besides him," Pointing to Nico, "I don't know anything else that happened, but Leo looked shaken up when I got there." 

Leo had to fight a smile, burying his face into Nico's neck. 

Chiron, meanwhile, sat, looking at everyone for a moment before saying softly, "Everyone, dismissed. Go to your cabins, we'll start curfew early tonight." 

Nyssa nodded, standing up and directing the rest of the campers out. Leo stood, with the help of Nico, and Chiron stopped him. 

"I think it would be best if you spent the night in the infirmary, Leo." His voice was gentle, non accusatory. "It's been a long day, I know." Leo looked up at him, shaking his head, lightly. He didn't want to go to the infirmary, he wanted to be with Nico. 

"Please, Chiron," He managed, sounding weary. "I'm fine. I can't bear to be in the same room as him, it hurts too much, knowing what I've done. Can I please just... go?" 

Chiron gave him an understanding smile, patting his shoulder lightly. Leo had to fight to shrug it off. "If you think that's best. But please, show up for breakfast tomorrow morning. I want to make sure you're okay." 

Leo nodded. "I will."

Nico held Leo close. "Thank you Chiron, I'll keep an eye on him sir." He used his most polite tone, leading Leo out of the big house. "I think you should stay with me tonight, so you can recover without many people around." He said, looking around. "Can they really argue with that? I'll have you at breakfast."

Leo followed Nico out of the big house, expression tired, weary, traumatized. He could feel eyes on him as he left, though the only ones left in the room were Chiron and Mr. D. The second they'd stepped off the porch, Leo's face changed to an emotionless stare. "I don't need to recover." He said evenly, pushing his hair out of his eyes.

Nico looked around a bit concerned, because other campers were staring. "Of course, still, please?" He asked, tugging Leo that direction. He didn't care what the other campers thought, but he didn't want Leo getting caught yet. He glared at a few while walking.

Leo didn't really give a shit about the campers staring. They didn't matter. None of this mattered, really. He'd killed twice already, what was more? He tried to shift back into an emotional state, to protect his innocence but found he just... couldn't do it. "Yeah, yeah. There's no one I'd rather be with, right now. No one else matters to me but you."

Nico smiled, taking Leo's hand. "I know, _mi inventore_ , come on." He dragged Leo to his cabin, immediately bursting into laughter as soon as the door was closed. "You are a scarily good actor, and the fear after you just went apathetic, gods Leo..."

God, that name brought him back to himself, and he smiled for the first time in a while. Leo sunk against the door as Nico laughed, and eventually Leo joined him in laughter. "What, you liked it?" He asked, giving him a little grin. "Nice to know I wasn't the only one holding back laughter in there."

Nico shook his head, hugging Leo. "Far from it, that was such a dramatic little act you did. 'I didn't mean it, he was scary.' Valdez, you're one of a kind." Nico kissed him softly, he knew that Leo was getting more and more unhinged, but he was willing to follow him down that path.

Leo relaxed into the kiss, biting at his bottom lip. "One of a kind, hmm? Aren't _you_ lucky." One arm slung around Nico's waist, and he let out a sigh, letting all the tension flood out of his body. "Let's end it all tonight." He murmured, eyes closed.

Nico shivered at the bite, he loved how Leo was. "I'm so very lucky." He looped his arms behind Leo's neck, holding him close. "I think that's a great idea, where were you thinking?" He asked, moving to nose at Leo's jaw. He was willing to go out and do anything with Leo, kill, steal, burn, whatever.

"Anything." He kissed him again, deeper this time. "Anything at all. I want to blow something up. I want to burn something down. I want the world." Each demand was accentuated by a deepening kiss down Nico's neck. Dominic's death was in the past, and Leo knew better to dwell on the past. He'd had it coming. Maybe this would teach the rest of the campers to finally fear him. His heart soared at the thought.

Nico's head fell against the wall as Leo kissed him all over, was this deranged? Possibly. But feeling Leo wanting him after riding the high of killing someone was doing something to him. "We can have the world in time." He said with a laugh. "But first let's burn something down tonight." The only thing better than kissing Leo, is kissing him while standing in the aftermath of their destruction.

"Burn it down," Leo agreed, lost in the feeling of Nico for the moment. "I want them all to pay for what they turned us into. We were never heroes. They deserve what’s coming to them. I want to see the flames." He pressed against him, eyes closed, just imagining it. "You must think I'm crazy."

Nico pulled Leo up, his mind whirling. Did Leo mean... “You... want it to be camp.” He didn’t wait for an answer, he could sense the confirmation in the way Leo’s fingers tightened around his waist. "If you're crazy... so am I. I’ll drag everyone here down to Hell, if it means I get to kiss you in the ruins of what we could’ve been." He pulled him in for a deep kiss, pressing their bodies together. "I’ll watch it all burn as we show our love to the world."

If Leo Valdez wasn't in love before, he certainly fucking was now. He wrapped his arms tightly around him, never wanting to let him go. "I love you so much," He murmured, against his lips. "There's no one I would rather be with than you." He pulled back checking the window. "We should wait ‘till nightfall." He turned back to Nico, expression shifting from bitter to something a little more lusty. "I think I know what I wanna do until then."

Nico smiled, he loved Leo more and more every day. "You're perfect." He murmured. He knew they couldn't do anything yet, but the anticipation was killing him, luckily Leo always had a plan for that. "Mmmm, I think you and I are on the same page." He tugged Leo towards his bed, if they couldn't go set fires yet it didn't mean they couldn't fuck until they could.

\---

A few hours later, Leo wasn't even fucking tired. He _was_ , but the idea of what they were going to be doing soon filled him with invigorating energy. Plus, he'd shotgunned a redbull right after having probably the best sex of his life. It was dark, and they'd changed into dark clothes, as was custom, though it wouldn’t matter. No one would be left to see them. Nico had so kindly shadow-travelled them down to Bunker Nine, where Leo had vials and vials of Greek Fire premade. He took four vials, two for each of them, and stuck a crowbar into his toolbelt, as well. Just because. "Are you ready?" He asked, looking over to Nico. "I can’t wait any fucking longer."

Nico didn't quite have the energy of Leo, of course he didn’t, he didn’t know anyone who did. But maybe that was why they worked so well together. Though his brain was still a little sex addled, he was anxious to see Leo at work. He’d seen him kill Dominic, the thought of more made his heart skip a beat. Finally, _finally_ , he could embrace who he was. “I’m more than ready, _bello_.” He held out his hand, dark eyes glinting. “Shall we wreak havoc?” He was ready to take them both away from this place, towards a better, brighter future, illuminated in the flames that his lover wrought.

Leo took his hand, feeling the familiar coolness. “We shall," He confirmed, his smirk wicked.

Fuck being a hero. Fuck this fucking camp. He wanted nothing to do with it anymore. This place held nothing more than broken memories and bad dreams. Here, he was a shell of what he was expected to be. With Nico, he could be truly himself. A killer. A villain. Fire brought destruction, Leo was a fool for thinking he was made for anything other than villainy.

Fuck them all. Chiron would be sorry. 

"Let's raise hell." Leo took his hand, turning into him and pressing a long kiss to his cheek.

"I want to watch it all burn."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YESSIRRRR that's it, that's the fic. best one you've every read, probably ;) (or probably not since this was shittily edited during ungodly hours of the night). I hope you had as much fun reading it as me and my boyfriend had writing it. My tumblr is @somanyspoons if you'd like to come and chat <3


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